‘The last man to talk to the last man’

As we move further and further from the momentous date of June 25^th, 1876, the opportunity to meet with individuals that have a direct connection to the Battle of the Little Big Horn diminishes.  However, a window to the past coincidently opened up at the Custer Battlefield Museum on the date of June 24th, 2012.

That window to the past was Ex-China Marine, Thomas Edward Kendley.  On Tueday, Thomas humbly sauntered into the Custer Battlefield Museum accompanied by his son Steve Kendley and told his captivating story in detail to one of the museum’s current interns.  Born January 27, 1917 Thomas has seen and partaken in some of the most important events in American History of the 20^th century.  Thomas is a proud veteran of World War II.  Mr. Kendley is also an enthusiast of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  Throughout his life he has made several trips to the battlefield.  One of his earliest trips was in 1926, which was the 50^th anniversary of the battle.  Thomas recalls the time when there was nothing more than a superintendent’s office and a small collection of artifacts located near ‘Last Stand Hill’, which is now known as the Little Big Horn National Monument.  Interestingly, Thomas mentioned that many of the artifacts were collected by Crow Tribal Member, Big Man, who is an ancestor of one of our clerks in the Gift Shop here at the Custer Battlefield Museum.

One of Mr. Kendley’s finest memories associated with the Battle of the Little Big Horn was when he met Charles Windolph, author of the book I fought with Custer.  Charles Windolph was born in Germany and served in the 7^th Calvary under Captain Benteen’s H Company.  At the time Thomas met Mr. Windolph in Leed, South Dakota in 1948, he was 97 years old and the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  Mr. Windolph was also a Congressional Medal of Honor Winner and distinguished himself during the battle by drawing fire from the Indians while carriers dashed to the river to collect water.  Despite the heavy rifle fire from the Indians, only one man was hurt during the action. 

During their conversation in 1948, Charles requested that his daughter retrieve “his letter”.  She brought back Mr. Windolph’s most prized possession, it was a letter in mint condition that had never been opened in 70 years, addressed personally to Charles Windolph from Captain Benteen.  Mr. Windolph asked Thomas if he would do him the honor of opening his letter and reading it to him.  The contents of the letter described Benteen’s appreciation for Windolph’s service and wished him farewell.  Nonetheless, Thomas felt honored to view such a document that Windolph had been waiting to read for all those years.

Now 95 years of age, Thomas is truly the last man to have talked to the last man of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  It was an extraordinary opportunity for myself to meet him and the Custer Battlefield Museum was honored to have such a distinguished guest.                  

Intern - Bart Maney

Friends from Garryowen, Ireland!



Chris with Geri from Garryowen, Ireland



This week has been very crazy here at the museum due to the reenactment weekend, and we had tons of visitors here. One of the other interns will be updating about the reenactment soon enough! This past week we had a visitor, Geri Slevin, from Garryowen, Ireland stop in the museum and Chris got some pictures taken with her in front of the Garryowen sign in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was really cool to meet someone from overseas, and I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how many visitors we get from across the pond. We've had people from South Africa to Australia and all over Europe come visit us here at the Custer Battlefield Museum, but having someone straight from Garryowen stop by to visit was the icing on the cake.



The Custer tattoo!



Also, during the commemoration last weekend, a woman came in the museum who had a tattoo of Custer on her arm! Chris got a picture of our Custer reenactor next to her tattoo, which was just awesome. I wasn't expecting someone to come in with a tattoo of him, but some history buffs out there will go to any lengths to show their love for history. During the commemoration, all of us interns got a group picture with Custer as well, which I'm going to put up on the side near our brief bio. We're looking forward to the rest of the summer and memories to come!

Posted by Christin Fimiani

Meet Autie, Thomas, and Boston!

Exciting news to share! Last week, Chris brought us a surprise: three little bunnies! Sarah and I named them after the Custer brothers. The three of them have been a little mischievous in escaping their cages, but we were finally able to get them a large dog cage which they have enjoyed immensely. They are very curious about their new home and keep exploring every chance they get. They've been flipping around with joy and loving the hay that we got them to chew on. We've been giving them lots of lettuce, carrots, and vegetables to nibble on as well. They're spoiled! It's been exciting to have them in our room and take care of them for the summer though.

Yesterday was pretty busy in the museum with the reenactment taking place down the road, and the ceremony out front. The 7th Cavalry came down to Garryowen to do the commemoration in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was exciting to see Custer there as well, and all of the interns got a picture with him which we will post up here soon enough. I still can't believe how many people we've had in the museum the last couple of days. It's been nonstop running around, but lots of fun. A couple of us are going to head into Crow today to check out some of the Native Day entertainment (and get some bbq ribs/fried bread), so I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to update you all with in the next few days. Lots of exciting things going on here in Garryowen!

Posted by Christin Fimiani

The Tipi is up!!



Tipi against a beautiful backdrop!

 After much anticipation the Tipi is finally up on the back property! You might ask why the Custer Battlefield Museum puts up a tipi here in Garryowen and I will do my best to answer! Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, over 7,000 Indians were camped here in the valley along the Little Bighorn River, in a camp that stretched 5 miles wide and 1 mile deep. All of the different tribes of the Lakota Sioux Nation (Brulé, Oglala, Hunkpapa, Black Feet, Miniconjou, Sans Arc & Two Kettle), the Eastern Dakota, the Northern Cheyenne and the Arapahos camped separately. The camp situated the farthest South was Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa camp, which made it the first camp that was attacked by Reno, starting the infamous battle. Today Garryowen sits on the site of Sitting Bull's camp and each summer we put up a fill size tipi at the locations where historians speculate Sitting Bull's tipi sat during the battle.

Posted by Sarah Szabo

They save the best for last...

Howdy blog readers,

My name is Bart and I'm the latest intern to arrive at the Custer Battlefied Museum in Garryowen, Montana.  I hail from Helix, Oregon and I'm currently studying Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in Eugene,OR.  I'm super-excited to be here and I expect that there will be plenty of intersting adventures to share with you on this blog throughout the summer.   

History of the Cavalry in the U.S. Army!

The museum has been pretty full the last week or so, and many people are asking about the anniversary of the battle this year, which has been fun to talk about. Both Sarah and I have had some pretty in depth conversations with visitors about various topics of the battle, and we've been learning a lot in the process as well. In fact, one visitor I spoke to yesterday reminded me that it was the anniversary of the army (6/14/12) and I figured it would be interesting to talk a little about the beginnings of the Cavalry branch within the U.S. Army, which was prominent in the 18th-20th centuries, especially during the westward expansion.

Little Big Horn Battle Reenactment, Cavalry

George Washington first saw the effect a small British cavalry unit had on his men at the Battle of White Plains, and asked Continental Congress for a small "dragoons" force in 1776, which was approved for 3,000 men. Congress appointed the Polish revolutionary soldier, Count Casimir Pulaski, to train them as an offensive strike force during winter quarters of 1777–78 at Trenton, New Jersey. After the Continental Army was discharged in 1783, the first cavalry unit to be formed was during the War of 1812, but it would eventually be disbanded after the war due to being too expensive to maintain in a standing army. The Westward Expansion of the early to mid 19th century would bring the cavalry forces into the spotlight once again, securing them a place in history during the Civil War and the Indian Wars. They began as Mounted Ranger Battalions protecting settlers among the East bank of the Mississippi River. To correct what was perceived as a lack of discipline, Congress formed the United States Regiment of Dragoons as a regular force in 1833. After infamous battles such as Little Big Horn with the 7th Cavalry and Custer's legacy forever attached to the mounted forces, they proceeded into the 20th century during World War I and even into World War II, until they merged with more mechanized regiments (tanks, heavy machinery, etc.) The last horse cavalry charge by an Army cavalry unit took place against Japanese forces during the fighting in the Bataan Peninsula in the village of Morong on January 16, 1942, by the 26th Cavalry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts.

I found it pretty interesting to see how the cavalry, and the Army, have progressed over the last 250 years or so. I'm glad that visitor reminded me of the anniversary, despite the vague idea I had, because much of this information I didn't know until I researched it. Thank you, visitors, for your little tidbits of knowledge! We love hearing them and can't wait to interact with more of you.

Posted by Christin Fimiani

The 7th Ranch RV Camp



Follow this sign down the
 Frontage Rd

 
After having a great time at the BBQ with the 7th Ranch work campers we decided to go up to the 7th Ranch ourselves and take a look around. The RV park is very easy to get to, when you exit at 514 you simply turn left, going under the freeway, and then follow the signs, which take you south down the frontage road until you get to Reno Creek, where you turn left again until you get to the beautiful 7th Ranch. We get visitors in the museum who are staying at the 7th Ranch and they have nothing but good things to say about the facility, which after taking a look myself, I have to agree with.


Full Service Sites

 The setting is gorgeous with rolling, green hills on all sides and a wide, blue sky as far as the eye can see. The 7th Ranch not only offers full or partial service sites, with trees between the sites to give shade on sunny days, but also cabins and tepees for travelers without an RV or who are adventurous and want to experience a night in a tepee! For the comfort of their visitors they also provide laundry and bathing facilities with soft water, which is a luxury in this part of the country. Chip and Sandy are native Montanans and have owned the ranch for 20 years. They purchased the ranch from Henry Weibert, author of Sixty-Six Years in Custer's Shadow, who was happy to pass on his property to people who were as interested in its history as he was.

 

Cabins and Teepes!

If you are interested in gaining more information about the 7th Ranch you can follow the link below to their website:

http://www.historicwest.com/

You can also visit them on facebook for up to date reservation information and additional photos and videos:

http://www.facebook.com/7TH.Ranch

Posted by Sarah Szabo

Visiting the National Monument and our BBQ!



Last Stand Hill, Little Bighorn National Monument



This week has gone by fast, but it's been packed with a lot of people at the museum! As Sarah said in the previous post, earlier this week Chris took us out to see where the unknown soldier was found as well as the battlefield and National Monument. We got a chance to walk through a part of the cemetery and see where Goes Ahead and Curley, two of Custer's scouts, were buried. Major Reno is also buried there and was the only officer from the battle to be buried in the cemetery with such high honors and an eleven gun salute. We got a chance to see the monument and Last Stand Hill where Custer and his men fell. The view from the top of the hill was incredible, but there was a somber mood throughout the area, despite the crystal clear morning. Seeing the markers on the hill allowed visitors to get a grounded view of what happened during the Battle of Little Bighorn, and envision it to the fullest extent. Across the road from the monument was the Indian memorial which was dedicated in 2003 in memory of all the tribes who died defending their way of life during the battle. It came to represent the mutual understanding of the infinite all the dead possess, both 7th Cavalry and Native American. Inside the memorial were beautiful displays dedicated to the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Crow Indians who lost their lives. We're hoping to get a chance to attend one of the Ranger talks and visit the battlefield again very soon.

Cutting the watermelon

Yesterday we got to throw together a BBQ with Chris and invited a group from the 7th Ranch down to attend, along with a few other friends in the area. It was a lot of fun preparing the food and setting up, and it was a great chance to meet everyone and share experiences. Good food and great company always bring people together and this was no exception! Not to mention the delicious watermelon Sarah and I got to cut up for dessert, along with the New York style cheesecake our guests brought (which reminded me of home). Hopefully, we'll get a chance to throw another gathering later on in the summer. All in all, it's been a very productive week and we're looking forward to our new interns arriving and the reenactments soon to come.

Posted by Christin Fimiani

Previous Resting Place of our Unknown Soldier

Marker for Unknown Soldier

This week Chris took us out to see where the Battle of Little Bighorn's Unknown Soldier was discovered. The soldier currently resides in front of the museum in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but he was discovered by the Weibert Family in 1925 south east of the current town of Garryowen. The timing of this find was fortuitous because the 50th Anniversary of the Battle was the following year in 1926. He was identified at a Cavalry Soldier and, due to his placement, as one of Reno's men. He is an almost complete skeleton and with the anniversary coming up it was decided that a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier would be dedicated to commemorate the battle. This dedication is famous because it is where the American term "Burying the Hatchet" originated. The Native Veteran, White Bull, dropped a hatchet into the trap door of the tomb to symbolize the end of the tensions between the two communities. The Veteran from the Seventh Cavalry was General Godfrey (he was a Lieutenant at the time of the battle) and the two men shook hands over the tomb. There were other artifacts placed in the tomb along with the hatchet, one being a letter from Elizabeth Custer explaining why she could not attend the dedication. We tell people about the Tomb everyday at the museum, so it was nice to actually go out and see where he laid for 50 years before his move to Garryowen.

Posted by Sarah Szabo

Intern #2 has arrived!

My name is Christin (or Chrissy) and I'm from New Jersey, currently studying for my bachelor's degree in History (concentration in U.S. History) with an anthropology minor. It's been a beautiful first day here. Looking forward to spending the summer here in Garryowen!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Flags flying in front of the Custer Battlefield Museum

We had a cool Memorial Day Weekend here in Garryowen, but we did not get the snow that fell at the higher elevations. The snow fall in Billings set a record for latest snow fall ever recorded and confused the tourists who all left their sweatshirts at home.

Here at the museum we did a steady business and had a tour group stop by, which was led by Neil Magnum, the former chief historian at the Custer Battlefield National Monument (that is what it was officially called when he was there - it was renamed Little Bighorn National Monument in the early 1990s). Mr. Magnum also wrote a book called "Battle of the Rosebud: Prelude to the Little Bighorn," which we sell in the trading post.


Me holding White Swan's gun



As a special treat for the tour group Chris brought out White Swan's gun for them to hold and take pictures with. White Swan was one of Custer's Crow scouts who was with him at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. During the battle he was actually sent with Reno's Battalion and he was gravely injured during the battle. He was left deaf from a blow to the head and lame from a shot to the knee and hand. He did survive the battle with the assistance of his cousin Half Yellow Face who carried him out of danger and he went on to live for another 25 years.

I have never held a gun before and it was a lot heavier than I thought it would be, don't think I will be taking up shooting any time soon, but it was fun to hold something so old that was owned by such an interesting historical figure.

Posted by Sarah Szabo

Rainbow Surprise!



Double Rainbow over Garryowen



The museum is getting busier and busier every day on the lead up to Memorial Day Weekend, which is only days away!

The Trading Post is open as well, with tons of authentic Native objects and a large selection of books, which is keeping us all busy here!

My time in Garryowen is getting better and better and even though it rained last evening there was a surprise for me that Chris was able to catch on film on his way back from Billings!

Posted by Sarah Szabo

First Intern Arrives- Summer 2012!!

Follow this sign to the
Custer Battlefield Museum

Hello! My name is Sarah Szabo and I arrived at the Custer Battlefield Museum on May 18th to some wonderful sunny but cool weather. I drove up with my parents from Kansas after graduating three days prior from New York University with a Master's in Latin American Studies and Museum Studies. I have been on the move a lot lately and am happy to settle down for the summer here in Garryowen. I have been getting aquainted with the Museum and the Trading Post over the past three days and I am really looking forward to working with Chris to create two new museum displays this summer.
The highlight of my time so far was meeting Cedric Black Eagle the Chairman of the Crow Tribe, who came into the museum today!
Everyone here is so friendly and welcoming I can already tell this is going to be a great environment to work in and I am eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the other interns!

Posted by Sarah Szabo