My rendevous with George Armstrong Custer was a long route steeped in historical study, as I was drawn to that period of the settlement of the American west. In looking for authentic historical biography, I ran out of books in the field and reluctantly started reading My Life on the Plains, by General Custer.
It is a very well written book, along with explanations of Indian battles where Gen. Custer risked his life to save the southern Cheyenne and other tribes, and gave a full account of the battle of the Washita, which in factual data actually revealed a different Custer than what Hollywood and revisionists were lying about.
From this, I started reading the works of his wife, Elizabeth Bacon Custer and witnessed a fascinating portrayal of a modern American couple whose husband took his wife along on campaigns and liberated her, to her complete delight in riding horses racing across the plains and freeing her to a life which was truly feminist in she was not barred from anything in this marriage in being all she could be in God's Grace.
I grew to admire Gen. Custer through his wife. I adored Libby so much I named my mare after her, who one winter day when I was Indian signing her name let me knew with emotion, that she was not the red roan horse I signed, but "the laughing woman's horse" as Libby was always buoyant.
Gen. Custer undertook for the Grant Administration the last greatest exploration of America in the Black Hills of what would be Dakota Territory. It was the summer of 1874 and his last great mark before political forces murdered him at the Little Big Horn.
On the survey he had President Grant's son who he arrested for drunkenness, and that is what started the problems, in 1875, General Custer was sent to Montana where he almost died like at the Washita in a Little Big Horn massacre, but survived by leading a charge.
In that year, Col. Washington Irving Dodge, led the scientific survey on the Custer trail, and it is a remarkable journal in Dodge, was skeptical of Custer at the beginning, but later praised his abilities to lead a military expedition into the bad lands and find the best route.
Dodge would also meet Capt. Benteen who betrayed Gen. Custer at the Little Big Horn. Dodge would record how much he did not like Benteen in being uncivil and Benteen had no sense when it came to making a proper camp.
In that my children, here is a lesson based upon George Custer, that you really are going to have to know when things get bad. It is the proper thing for a camp and fortunately there is a photograph of one of the Custer camps in the Black Hills taken from a vantage point.
The photo is perfect grace in what a good camp requires in the field for security, water, grass and "air" as room with ventilation is required to keep biting insects away.
The camp line of tents pitched are the red lines and the blue lines are the water system which forms the defensive perimeter. This is classic as one always attempts to camp upon a pennisula as one only has to defend three sides and yet has a plausable escape route.
This camp if attacked would have these water lines to slow down an enemy, and banks from which to use as cover to fire from. If forced back, the lines would then form on the supply wagons and if broken their, the flank being the high bluff with water in front would be the last stand area.
As the Indians did not have artillery and no sniper type abilities the bluff was nothing an enemy could rain fire on into the camp.
This is with a body of 400 Troopers be a quaint picnic as Col. Dodge reported on his survey in being too large of body to attack and therefore bunkers or fox holes would not have to have time wasted in construction.
Even the bows in the river are put to use, as they are herd areas for grazing horses and the camp beef which can be seen grazing in the left ox bow.
Libby would have great concern as her Autie would venture out hunting in wild Indian country often, but he was quite secure in his abilities, and never had a mishap.
Gen. Custer just had a unique ability for judging land and danger. He truly was the best officer since Kit Carson in wilderness country, and for use of lay of the land only Gen. Patton understood instantly this type of natural ability.
These are things you have to know my children. You must know about penninsulas, whether they are your box canyons of your brick building lined streets or whether it is a bluff jutting out to form this three sided defense to assist your position.
You will need backing for your flank no matter the position, but this is key to a mindset of your position and then the fields of fire which it opens up.
Fields of fire are areas where the enemy will be drawn to attack, and it is at those points that one can concentrate then fire on that position to wipe the enemy out.
The W on the left and the U on the right would be internal choke points and the outer perimeters would be external choke points where one would direct fire as it would naturally force an enemy to attack there.
The first photo is truly remarkable as it actually in blowing it up transforms into 3 D. I really enjoy old photos in studying them in the minute details they reveal on camp life and often on the overlooked things of the ways people lived from experience.
To have the opportunity to just ride through a camp like this and take digitals would be a treasur of understanding that Remington prints only captured glimpses of.
The General's tent is center by the second red line. The mess tent and the supporting officers are there with the camp gaurd. The perimeter posts are the advance line to the front.
Life is a major of always the triangular point as it is the strongest thing in nature geometric design teaches. The minority position is safe retreat from that point.
You should probably notice those things now and not later. Granted the centers of cities and military reservations have grabbed the best areas, but they form all over in rows of trees, cemented river drainages, culverts and other such things.
I so would enjoy being away from all of this and experiencing with TL all of these adventure points out of pleasure and not necessity.
Oh well, boots and saddles.......
agtG
