Soldiers from Albany, NY and the surrounding region 

who fought with Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry 

Regiment at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25-26 June 1876

 

Webpage by Cliff Lamere   26 Jun 2006, revised 23 Aug 2016

 

 

 

           

General George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876)

 

 

George Armstrong Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, 7th Cavalry Regiment

 

 

    

Sitting Bull, a holy man (c1831 to December 15, 1890),

member of the Hunkpapa Lakota tribe of the Sioux.

 

Crazy Horse was a war leader of the Oglala Lakota tribe of the Sioux (c1842 to September 5, 1877).

There is no photo of him except one that is very controversial.

    ____________________________________

 

George Armstrong Custer was a General in the Civil War, but afterward, in 1876, he commanded the 7th Cavalry regiment as a Lieutenant Colonel.  The regiment consisted of 647 men, of which 22% were New Yorkers.  Men with ties to today's Capital Region of New York State (named below) made up 4% of the total.  Some of the men did not accompany the 7th Cavalry on this campaign.  About 565-585 were at Little Bighorn.

 

Custer believed that the Indian encampment at the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory was much smaller than it actually was.  Some historians place the number of Indians at around 1800.  Ten surviving combatants estimated the number of Indian warriors present.  The average estimate was about 3500 Indian fighters and their leaders.  A National Park Service site says there were "several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors."

 

Lt. Col. George Custer divided his regiment into three battalions, totaling 12 companies.  Custer led five of the companies (208 men), Major Marcus Reno led three companies (142), and three companies were led by Captain Frederick Benteen (100+).  The 12th company was assigned as escort to the pack train carrying provisions and additional ammunition. 

 

The Battle began in the valley of the Little Bighorn River (Montana) on 25 June 1876 and finished the following day.  Custer and every man in his command were killed on the first day.  According to a National Park Service site, a total of 263 soldiers were killed at Little Bighorn.  On the third day, the Indian encampment was dissembled, and the warriors withdrew with their women and children. 

 

Source for much of the information above:  Wikipedia webpages and other websites.

 

Source for the tables below: 

"Men With Custer: Biographies of the 7th Cavalry, June 25, 1876" edided by Ronald H. Nichols

"Was He Custer's Last Man?" -  Times Union (newspaper), Albany, NY: published 26 June 2006, pages A1 & A3

 

KIA = killed in action

S = survived battle

 

Birth dates and places of the men killed in action were taken from a pdf file provided by Friends of the Little Bighorn.  (Link)

 

Capital Region Soldiers at the Battle of Little Bighorn

NAME

RANK

HOMETOWN

COMMENT

James Butler

First Sgt.

Ballston

KIA.  Family marker in St. Mary's Cemetery in Ballston commemorates his death.  Newspaper article is primarily about this person.  Born 1842 Albany, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

John J. Carey

Pvt.

Troy

S

Thomas W. Coleman

Pvt.

Troy

S

Charles Cunningham

Corp.

Hudson

Wounded.  Received Medal of Honor for this battle.  The citation for his medal said that he "declined to leave the line when wounded in the neck during heavy fire and fought bravely all next day."

William A. Curtiss

Sgt.

Albany

S

Charles H. Houghtaling

Pvt.

Hudson

S

Samuel Johnson

Pvt.

Troy

S

John McGucker

Trumpeter

Albany

KIA.  Born 1836 Albany, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

Peter McGue

Pvt.

Port Henry

KIA.  Born July 1847 at Port Henry, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

Garrett H. Niver

Pvt.

Bethlehem

KIA, same person as Garrett H. Van Allen below. 

Note:  Gerrit H. Niver was his birth name.  Born Feb 1, 1846 Bethlehem, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.  He has a memorial stone in Elmwood Cemetery in the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, NY.  He was buried in a common grave at Little Bighorn with other enlisted men.

John J. Rafter

Sgt.

Lansingburgh

S

William E. Smith

Pvt.

Rouses Point

S

Henry James Turley

Pvt.

Troy

KIA.  Born March 1851 Troy, NY.  Died June 25, 1876.

Hiram Wallace

Sgt.

Whitehall

S

Garrett H. Van Allen

Pvt.

Bethlehem

KIA, same as Garrett H. Niver above.  

Charles A. Varnum

Lt.

Troy

Wounded in the leg during attack on village or retreat, while commanding the Indian scouts under Maj. Reno.  

James Watson

Pvt.

Hudson

S

John R. Wilkinson

Sgt.

Salem

KIA. Born August 1847 Salem, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

DeWitt Winney

Sgt.

Saratoga

KIA.  Born 1845 Saratoga, NY.  Died June 25, 1876.

George Yates

Capt.

Albany

KIA.  Born February 26, 1843 Albany, NY.  Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

 

 

Soldiers who moved to the Capital Region and enlisted

Robert Barth

Pvt.

Albany

KIA.  Born 1850 Pforzheim, Baden, Germany.   Died June 25, 1876 with Custer.

Herod T. Liddiard

Pvt.

Troy

KIA.  Born 1851 Rodborough, Glouchestershire, England.  Died June 25, 1876.

James McNally

Pvt.

Troy

S

James McNamara

Pvt.

Troy

S

Elwyn S. Reid

Pvt.

Albany

S

William Othneil

Pvt.

Troy

S

William Whitlow

Pvt.

Troy

S

 

 

For more information about the soldiers mentioned above, refer to the site of the Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, but especially to a list of all of the men.  Click here to visit an excellent website for Custer's Last Stand as well as much information about the Civil War and Indian Tribes. 

 

 

 

 

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