Red Devils -18 Lincoln and more on Custer

We all knew that there was only me and Nelson to give our half way reports on our projects left. I really wanted mine to be last, because by then it would be so late in the term that Miss Marble couldn’t tell me that I had to change it. 

But luck was with me, and Miss Marble did choose Nelson next. His was the subject that we all felt like we already knew enough about. We had Lincoln and his life told to us from birth, so it would be hard for him to find anything new and interesting that we didn’t already know.

I knew that he had access to some things about Lincoln that weren’t public knowledge - like what he was talking over with Thomas that day we heard him outside class. I did sincerely hope that he wouldn’t have any more of those sorts of things to reveal to us in his report.

Nelson is pretty full of himself. When he stood up in front of the group, he already knew that he was going to impress us by what he was going to say, and he couldn’t wait.

"You think you all know pretty much all there is to know about Abraham Lincoln. But I am going to tell you today some things that I think you probably didn’t know.

"Did you know that his wife’s family owned slaves? Did you know that he wasn’t really in favor of freeing the slaves, but only wanted to keep more states from being allowed to take on the option of having them?

"Did you know that his wife had lots of fits - and did the most outrageous things? She stole money from the government - or at least she used money that was supposed to be for used for Presidential things for her own personal use. When Lincoln died, she was $30,000 dollars in debt.

"Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation shortly after he had read Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Albertina has already told us that when he met her Mrs. Stowe said that it was her book that really started the war. But I have read that he didn’t have the power to free the slaves. Only the Congress could do that, and they weren’t in session. So during the war, when he pretended he was doing something so important that it would rock the country, he didn’t have the power to do it - but nobody who knew that let on. And when the Congress did meet, they did ratify the amendment to the constitution to end slavery, so it all got done officially in the end. But it wasn’t him that did it.

"Did you know that when he gave his famous Gettysburg Address it was considered to be a worthless speech, and the newspapers of the day (or at least most of them) slated it? He considered it a failure, and felt really bad that he had done such a bad job?

"Did you know that his wife, after their son died, actually thought she could talk to him, and to her three brothers who were killed in the war fighting on the Confederate side? She had seances all over the place.

"Did you know that he didn’t really believe in God? He only puts the words “Under God” into the Gettysburg address because he was told by one of his advisers that it would be a good move, and would get him more support.

"Did you know that there were dozens of plots to kill him, and he was expecting to be assassinated? He even dreamed about it only a day or so before it happened. He dreamed that he could see himself lying in state and people were saying that he had been shot. He recorded it in his journal so we know that it was really true. And John Wilkes Booth had tried to kill him once before at the same theater - and that time, it hadn’t worked because the stupid man had not taken the safety off on the pistol.

"Did you know that during the middle of the war, he was really worried about being reelected for a second term? He had always wanted to be president, and he really enjoyed the power he had, and he was so frightened that it would be taken away from him.

"Did you know that they kept their eldest son Robert from joining up in the war at the beginning, even though that was what he really wanted to do? He was sent to Yale, and when people criticized the fact that their son wasn’t fighting, they always said he would do as soon as he finished his education. Lincoln really wanted his son to have the educational advantages that he didn’t have and he wanted him to talk with a proper Eastern accent, not in the backwoodsy way that he himself talked, and that people used to mimic.

"Did you know that the rich people could give $200 to keep their sons from being called up? Did you know that Lincoln wanted the war to be fought by volunteers only, but there weren’t enough, so they had a sort of lottery, with all the names of men between 18 and 35 in each of the Northern states, being put into a hat, and the unlucky ones drawn out.

"Did you know that when Mrs. Lincoln’s sister came to visit her after the death of her favorite son, she was not allowed to go back South to her home place unless she signed a form saying that she rejected slavery? And do you know that Lincoln himself filled in the form and forged her signature so she could go back?

"Did you know that when Abe Lincoln died, Mrs. Lincoln and her sons went to Chicago, but not too long after, her son Robert had her put in an insane asylum. That was after her other son, the dotty one, had died.

"So now, what do you think of Honest Abe? Is he quite the same person as you thought you knew so well?"

We were all in shock when Nelson sat down, and he knew that he had achieved the response he desired.

“How sure are you of your facts, Nelson?” asked Miss Marble.

“I had access to some of his diaries and letters. My dad is rich and he knows people in Washington, and all those things are there. They are facts, and I know a lot more too, but some of them I probably ought not to mention in case people get upset by them.”

“Well, thank you Nelson for your very interesting report. I shall look forward to reading your final essay, which I might remind you, must not just be a bunch of questions, but a properly thought out report on Mr. Lincoln. And might I add that I will not give a very good mark for a report that is full of negative comments only. ”

“Yes, Miss,” he said, and then she dismissed the class.

March 29

I have finished my middle bit of my essay, and so far I have not mentioned the Indians much at all.

II. General Custer’s Army Life

General Custer was given a place at West Point - to the surprise of everyone as he was not a very good student. And at West Point, he graduated 24^th out of a class of 24.

In June 1861, he went right into the Civil War and was involved in the disastrous battle of Bull Run. He then had better success in several others of the Civil War skirmishes, and came out with valour. He kept being promoted and given greater responsibilities until in March 1865, General Custer became a brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. army. He was the youngest man ever to reach that rank in the army - as he was still only 26.

He spent several years in charge of Indian Affairs in the Midwest, mainly Kansas. He seemed to get along well with his men and the Indians alike, and enjoyed his time there, despite the bad weather.

 Then, in 1867, Custer had a big problem. On 11 October, 1867, at Fort Leavenworth, a court martial found Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, 7^th U.S. Cavalry guilty and sentenced him to suspension from rank and command for one year, and forfeiture of his pay for the same time.

These were the charges against him - and on all of them he was found guilty.

1. That he absented himself from his command without authority and rode 275 miles, at a time when he was supposed to be actively engaged against hostile Indians. (He was visiting his wife.)
2. Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.
3. He took a group of exhausted horses, which had not been rested and were in unfit condition another 75 miles, on private business and without authority.
4. When on private business, did make use of government property - specifically two ambulances and four mules to convey himself and his escort.
5. That he failed to take measures against a group of Indians that attacked a small party detached from his escort. After the return of the party, with two of their number killed, he neglected to pursue the Indians or recover or bury the bodies.
6. Conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline - example - when in command of a pursuit of supposed deserters, he told the party to “shoot them down dead and bring none in alive.” Thus some of these men were severely wounded, and if he had his way, they would not have had a fair trial. These wounded soldiers were placed in a government wagon and hauled 18 miles and this without allowing them to receive medical treatment. One of these men, Private Charles Johnson, Company K, died as a result of his wounds.

He had many friends who came buffalo hunting with him, and they were prolific in the slaughter and waste of those magnificent animals - all for sport. And also, I think, it was a Government policy to try to kill the main food source of the Indians. It turned out to be a very successful way to destroy the Indians at the same time. In 1800, it was estimated that there were 30 million buffalo. By 1850, the number was down to 20 million and by 1870, they were nearly extinct.

Custer and Buffalo Bill Cody took several groups on buffalo hunts in Nebraska, and on one of these parties, Mr. James Gordon Bennett, and Mr. P.T. Barnum were included. But the one that has most written about is the buffalo hunt by Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, 4^th son of Czar Nicholas II, on his 22^nd birthday in January, 1872 (pictured above).

A special train, provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, arrived at Fort McPherson, Nebraska. The Duke and General Sheridan rode in an open carriage, drawn by four horses. Buffalo Bill escorted the party with five or six ambulances, fifteen to twenty extra saddle horses and a company of cavalry with buffalo soldiers, across the South Platte to the Medicine Creek for lunch and a change of horses and then on to what they called Camp Alexis on the Willow for the hunt.

 Preparations for the hunt had been extensive with 500 people involved. Spotted Tail and his camp of Indian warriors were in place and had been provided with ten thousand rations of flour, sugar, coffee, and 1,000 pounds of tobacco for their trouble - twenty-five wagon loads in all. Two hospital tents and ten wall tents were provided for the party.  Three of the wall tents were floored and the Duke's was carpeted with oriental rugs.

 The exercises of the evening for the amusement of Alexis were samples of the Indians' skill in horsemanship, lance-throwing and bow-shooting. Then there was a sham fight, showing the Indian mode of warfare, closing up with a grand war dance.

 Early the next morning the hunting party approached a fine buffalo herd several miles up the Willow. The Grand Duke rode Buffalo Bill's celebrated buffalo horse "Buckskin Joe", which had been trained to ride at full gallop with a target so that the best shot could be made. 

Away they went, tearing down the hill and throwing up a sandstorm in the rear, leaving the Duke's retinue far behind. Within a hundred yards of the fleeing buffalo, the Duke fired, but missed. He was not accustomed to shooting from a running horse. Cody rode up close beside the Duke and advised him, "Don't fire until you are on the flank of the buffalo. The sport is in the chase." They dashed off together and ran their horses on either flank of a large bull, against the side of which the Duke thrust his gun and fired a fatal shot.

The hide of the dead buffalo was carefully removed and dressed. Cody reports that, "The royal traveler in his journeys over the world has no doubt often rested himself on his trophy from the plains of America."

Twenty to thirty animals were killed on the first day of the hunt. The next day the Duke and the others killed about 56. The Duke killed a buffalo at a distance of 100 yards with a heavy navy revolver. Buffalo Bill ranked this shot as a "marvelous scratch."

The grand duke's buffalo hunt was reported around the world. Those accounts resulted in Cody's first trip to the East, where he made his first stage appearance that would later lead to his Wild West shows.

It has been suggested that the notoriety of Alexis' buffalo hunts "contributed to a veritable stampede to hunt these animals in subsequent years."

Once source said nearly 3.7 million buffalo were slaughtered from 1872 to 1874, only about 500,000 of them by Indians. The great southern herd, which Alexis had hunted, was totally destroyed within three years.

General Custer, who was engaged as the Duke’s official escort for this part of the tour, became a fast friend of the Prince, and they carried on corresponding up to Custer’s death.

 III. Custer’s life from 1867 to 1874

Custer spent much of his free time writing, and he had a book published, My Life on the Plains, or Personal Experiences with Indians, published in 1874. It is a vivid picture of the American West, the rigors of life for the settlers, and the horrors of Indian warfare, and his experiences with the Seventh Cavalry. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Bacon Custer writes very movingly of the affection shown her by General Custer, and of the minute details of their family life. I have included a short section from one of her letters:

“My husband used to quote a line or two from one of Mrs. Stowe's books that we had read together. The new husband is asked why he knows that he loves his wife: 'Because she never tires me; she never makes me nervous.' He believed that if husbands and wives bore that proof successfully as time advanced, they might count on a happy future.”

There was much speculation as to whether General Custer was a serious contender for the next Presidential election, which was due to take place in that same year as the big battle. In fact I am sure that my Pa was known to have written that he had confided in him that he wanted to enter the race, and Pa told him that there was only a week before the convention was to be held to pick a candidate, and maybe that was why Custer was in such a darn hurry to get on with fighting the Indians on that fatal day.