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