Little Bighorn’s Forgotten Hero by Robert M. Utley
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- In 2019 I turned 90. As a Custer aficionado since the age of 12, I was prompted to reflect on my connection with Custer and the Custer Battlefield, now termed the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Errol Flynn in They Died with Their Boots On (1942) introduced me to Custer. Captain E.S. Luce, superintendent of the Custer Battlefield National Monument, introduced me to the battlefield. In 1946, I bought a bus ticket, and from my Indiana home, toured the West. At Custer Battlefield, Luce, an old cavalryman, guided me over the battlefield. The following year, he twisted government rules to hire me, at age 17, as a seasonal ranger-historian at the battlefield. I spent six college summers telling tourists the story of the Little Bighorn.
Flynn and Luce may have introduced me to Custer and the Custer Battlefield, but Charlie Windolph made the connection personal. I can now look back over 72 years to meeting and visiting with Charlie Windolph, who 71 years earlier had fought in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He was 97 and the last survivor of the troopers who fought there.
Interview produced and filmed by Ken Amorosano, True West Publisher, at the Arizona home of Robert M. Utley, January 2020.
Amazing Recollection from a Great Historian. There’s Cheyenne,Sioux and Arapahoe eyewitness accounts as well that are valuable historical records . Makes me reflect back to mid 60’s when as a young boy walking my neighborhood in Shasta County CA and seeing a old 90 year old Man working in his Garage. All these years I thought back-That Man lived and saw the old West- wished I could of heard his stories. But My Grandpa born 1903’ left me a treasure trove that I cherish. People and a Nation that disregards their Elders and all History are Doomed and will suffer the consequences🇺🇸
Great comment sir.
The Native American scouts that were there the day of battle give a much different account of what become a doctored 'all American' version of the battle.
My father lived until he was 90 & passed a year ago. He never would talk much about his life or our family until the last month of life & i was so lucky to be the son that heard the stories. To hear that one of his uncle's owned a restaurant in Chicago during the 1920s-30s & had a new car every time he came to visit was cool but to hear of the relative that came from Texas after the Civil War on a stolen horse really peaked my interest. Now I'm finding out what happened in our family and who we were& why my dad didn't speak about it much. I come from a long line of outlaws & rebels & circuit riding preachers.
Proven fact. Thank you.
Robert Utley is a national treasure. His books are first-class reading. Thanks! Robert.
If more 94yr olds would talk to 17yr olds I'm pretty sure the world would be alot different....thanks for this wonderful gem!!
That wouldn't be a problem. Getting the 17 year old crowd to sit down, be quiet and listen would be the hurdle.
Hard to believe there is somebody still alive (as of Feb, 2021) that talked to a participant of the Battle of Little Bighorn.
My father died in 2009, and his grandfather had fought in the Civil War. He'd be 98 if he lived to today, so that you could speak to a man who heard Civil War stories first hand from his grandfather who participated in the war. There are probably a few people today who are that old who can still tell you what they learned from elders they knew in the 1920s or 30s.
My father died in 2009, and his grandfather had fought in the Civil War. He'd be 98 if he lived to today, so that you could speak to a man who heard Civil War stories first hand from his grandfather who participated in the war. There are probably a few people today who are that old who can still tell you what they learned from elders they knew in the 1920s or 30s.
@@استاذدانيال You Should do research on him as to what unit he was in and where he fought, the family members will greatly appreciate it
President John Tyler, born in 1790, has a living grandson today. The three generations of Tyler and his descendants span almost the entire lifetime of the nation…
My mother's grandfather told my mother of the Yankee calvary raiding through the foothills of NC that I live in during the War Between the States (War of Northern Agression). She remembered it wrong or maybe in his telling he said it wrong. She said he said it was Gen Sherman but actually was Gen Stoneman who rode over from Tennessee.
They must have had some warning as he told of them hiding their only mule and some pigs and chickens. The yankees took all they found. Also they burnt the courthouse in Taylorsville and stole all they could find. He was blind in later life but I don't know if he was then.
Total war. Stealing from civilians and burning homes, crops, businesses and other property was part of the War Between the States. We seem to have forgotten so much of our history. It was only a few generations ago.
I toured the Little Bighorn Park in 2009. I had done a lot of research before I went there. It was a fantastic experience. I recommend touring there. The Benteen troopers rode their horses up a near vertical wall of sandstone. I looked at the literal cliff and said to an Indigenous Park Ranger, "There is no way anyone could ride a horse up this slope". The Ranger retorted, " You would ride a horse up there if you had hundreds of angry Indians shooting at you!" It was quite an experience.
Renos command accomplished the climb
Indigenous? Most likely a Crow
Norman McKinnon In the battle at lookout mountain Overlooking Chattanooga TN The Federal troops tried to charge Missionary Ridge time and time again but each time they would get to the bottom at the Rifle pits the Confederates would open up like Shooting fish in a barrel. Gen. Grant talked to Gen. Thomas Wood told him to charge it again with two brigades but due to noise he couldn't quite make it all out as to where they were supposed to stop. As they got to the first rifle pits they were getting shot to pieces so instead of retreat he kept charging up the hill until they overran the position. They were dug in To stay but the Federal Army kept coming until they were able to capture the whole Ridge and set up the invasion into Georgia All the way to the Sea.Take care friend I love everything about history Plan on going to the Battlefield Of Little Big Horn.or The Greasy Grass Depending on which side they were.
@@Freedomfred939 Yep, that was not Benteen. Think he mixed guys up, but his point was valid about the high ground that Reno and his men had to retreat up .
@@twilmoth7954 "on wisconsin" cried Arthur McArthur as they charged up missionary ridge.
Smart as a tack in this interview at age 90. Imagine meeting a survivor of that battle and hearing about Capt. Benteen first hand. Mr. Utley thank you sir! God bless!
back in 1962 art linkletter had a white man who was the last person who'd been scalped by indian's. quite a story..my great ganpa died in 1932 fought in civil war tennessee calvary
This is phenomenal, I can relate to this a bit , my Aunt May one Sat afternoon when I was about 8 years old told me she had gone to a memorial service which they held every year at the antietam battlefield
And when returning by train to Paterson New Jersey sat next to a veteran of that battle .... I heard this in 1953 and ever since that day I think about how close in time those of us now in our 70 s and beyond were as youngsters to the Civil war era thru our relatives stories of actually meeting those men .... just always made that war very close to me
My great grandfather was in the Kentucky 7th confederate army , my mother was born in 1912 , she remembered him , I wish I had listened to the things she told me about him and the war ,
I wish I had known it at the time, I praise myself for being born exactly at the right time in history in that I was so close to the people and way of life prior to my birth and at the beginning of modern life my mother more so at 90 years old and growing up during the depression in San Antonio, a world war and now a deadly pandemic.
Well as a boy there were people still around who fought in WW1 and others who were around during the gangster era
Mr. Utley is a national treasure. I have been reading his books for almost 40 years, and I marvel at the depth and breadth of his knowledge. So glad my life overlapped his…
Wow, Great story. It is always an honor to get to hear stories from the people who were at an historic event. As a child I never tired of talking to those who served in WWI & WWII. I was also privileged to know a grand old lady who went to a Buffalo Bill Wild West Show where Sitting Bull was still part of the show. She was alive when the Wright Brothers made their first flight and see man land on the moon. These are things that need to be passed on. Thank you for sharing.
I worked on the Wild West TV series when they shot the interviews in 1990, 1991. They were shot on 16mm film and will last forever. Robert M. Utley is such a kind gentleman.
What a great story and first hand account from Mr. Utley, what a treasure and historian, thanks for sharing !
Moments like this, in and of historical events, especially from the 19th century are as unique and epic as the event itself.
What a truly special moment for all of us who found this interview. It gives you a direct feeling of how Mr. Utley felt, and still feels, hearing this story from a Bighorn veteran.
An American treasure....truly a remarkable man, Mr Utley, God Bless You!!
Robert Utley is a living American treasure! Always have enjoyed his interviews and his books on the American West, particularly his expertise on Native American history and biographies. (Today is June 25, 144 years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn.)
Pretty damn awesome. Is Mr. Utley still around? If so, I will try to visit him for sure.
June 25th is a holiday on the reservation.
One of the foremost Little Bighorn experts. Thank you for all your contributions to the study of this battle Mr. Utley :)
I am much younger than this man, but my next door neighbor in the sixties was a cavalry soldier and then a WW1 veteran. I lament that I didn’t ask enough questions
Bless his heart! What a wonderful man and thanks for posting this story !!
His knowledge & recollection of these events from a man who was actually there, is priceless. Very well spoken.
may God bless and keep you Mr. Utley...you are my favorite historian!
Utley is a narrative-master. I've read every book he's written (that I can find). He's a great American and a brilliant historian. This is a great video. Ty.
I run into people in their 20's who never heard of this battle let alone Custer.
i know, its depressing how uninformed they are bearing in mind middle and high schools are supposed to cover this subject.
We all know it's called The dumbing down of America!!!
@@insertnamehere5146 I remember being taught about it. These guys I know said that they don't teach it in school. Must be a PC thing.
They do not teach but a smattering of American history in the govt schools now.
Amen.
Mr. Utley is truly a treasure to the world of American western history. I first discovered him on the History Channel, then read some of his books.
I've watched Mr. Utley for so many years on older videos that I thought he was ageless...I now see him much older. I'm glad I've gotten so many of his books& recorded each of his interviews (both on VHS & DVD). Hutton, Hardin&Utley are among my favorite western historians.
Thank you, mr. Utley. It is a fantastic story.
I love this guy. Always have. Just brilliant.
Love this story! Mr. Utley is such a treasure!
I did a military Staff Ride at this battlefield. It was very well done. They drove us all over the prairie and shows us routes, engagements, and defense locations.
A great historian and author! one of the very best!
Remarkable man, and remarkable telling. Oh the history of the 7th. To this day.
Beautiful! We often overlook how close some of our history is; it's like 2 degrees of separation, isn't it? I'm 65 now, but I grew up knowing people who knew many Western characters, and my grandfather rode in the Roughriders. Excellent job in ferreting out this story 🤩😊
For a second there I thought he was sitting on a crotch rocket. Until I realized it's a mobility scooter.
* Appreciate Mr. Utley's many years of sharing his knowledge and take on history. Salute, sir.
what a remarkable story! I feel lucky (and blessed, for I am now 86) to maintain this connection. Although I am no fan of Custer, there is no denying his role in our western heritage. I am also an English major from college and I must say I marveled at Mr Utley's command o fthe language; not an error in syntax!
Custer did what he had to do...
mebbe so, @@jeffsmith2022 but Custer, was a damn fool...who cost many men their lives with his arrogance
@@jondough4227 The real tactical blunder was and always will be not offering quarter to the enemy.
A lesson learned again on the eastern front of ww2
The Indians were brought to ruination over thier conduct on the greazy grass.
P.s. it was Christian back east who finally lobbied to grant quarter for Indians
@Erick Mandujano what? Like white people cant be indigenous?
Then all non white out of Europe now
And no more reservations and Indians cant use any thing a white man built including this entire system that's cultural appropriations.
Thank God whites conquered this country and most like me want an end to this racism most indians I know want to be called by their name steve bill mike so on not one I have ever met cared one sh!t about the word indian.
Only you cultural marxists do
We are all equal end the reservation and stop stealing from white men
@Erick Mandujano yea right all those rocket sience road and empire building Sioux indians
Your an idiot.
Robert Marshall Utley shares his knowledge in just about any documentary there is, whether it's about Custer or anything else on the Indian Wars. Still, this is the most amazing story I have heard from him. May you have many more good years, Robert.
His books are the best, as was this interview!
Sadly Robert left us in June 2022. Let’s hope he finally got his answers over the Custer mystery.
A scholar and a gentleman..may he Rest In Peace…👵🇦🇺🇺🇸
Love all the Custer movies they died with their boots on Son Of The Morning Star are the best by far I had a great great uncle in the second u.s. Calvary
Yes they are great movies son of morning sun is the best to me so real like
Ment star not sun sometime I send to fast
Actually the archaeological evidence discovered a different perspective of the battle. Of desperate men shooting in all directions and having not even time to reload their weapons, leaving intact ammunition on the ground. The last stand was different from the movies...
Excellent interview . Thank you.
Absolutely amazing what a fantastic video and story to hear what a superstar thank you 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Splendid man, splendid writer...
What a story to make a bad day really good thank you Mr Utley .
Great story. Thanks for posting
You're my hero, Mr. Utley!
That was an amazing story!!
that was awesome
It sure was.
Wonderful recall. ‼️So great to hear. What an interesting experience!!
Absolutely, Mr Robert Utley is truly a grifted American. Historical, author, speaker, a very gifted narrator, and interpreter, of conflict. I myself have had a lifelong obsession with the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Back in the early Eighties two friends, and I spent the entire day at the Battlefield. It was overcast, rainy - light snow. Yes some snow, even though it was end of May, or first wk of June. I have yet to be there on the anniversary. You talk about Eerie, and Quiet. I swear I felt the presence of the Dead. Thanks another place to visit South-West is the Fetterman Fight, at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. Thanks great interview and subject.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
In 1976 we went west to the Black Hills and I think it was near or on a reservation where we heard a woman telling stories. I believe it was near a Sioux reservation. She was the daughter of someone who fought against Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. She was in her late 80's at the time. She was born after the Battle in the 1880's. There isn't much I remember. I do remember her sitting in a chair on an outdoor stage and speaking to a crowd. I was sitting 15 feet away. She was treated as a very important person as all the elders were. There was also a dance that was performed with drumming and singing or chanting in their native language. Some kids were invited up on the stage to dance. The crowd was told to listen to the elders and later could ask questions. There were others who told stories too but she was the oldest there from her tribe. The elder woman asked for questions and someone wanted to know how to say something in her language. She replied but I don't remember what the word or phrase was. I still remember her weathered face and grey hair and her eyes. To me as as young person she seemed like a wise person like my grandmother who was about the same age who came over from Ireland. I remember there was food and it was a big celebration. Also, we were told the elders were writing their stories and keeping their language and teachings intact and everyone should do the same when they get home. There were many tribes there.
Priceless interview.
I first visited the battlefield in the nineteen sixties as a young man. There were no other people there that day and the overwhelming spirituality of that sacred place with the graves scattered down the hills and coulees above the river has haunted me ever since...
I agree when you mention spirituality. People seemed to speak in hushed tones around the monument as if in church.
@@richstex4736 The Vietnam Wall struck me the same way. It's almost overwhelming...
I am glad that his words and the History that Indigenous People have shared also are being Recorded (Sitting Bull's Testimony was not the only Person to have their Story told in the Newsprint of the time)!
There are NO winners in War ONLY Suffering & Death!!
Wow... God Bless him. Great history .
Just an amazing interview...wow...
Thank You for uploading this Interview. Of such a Great Historian as Mr Robert Utley. Again He was A genuine Gem. May He RIP. Hopefully at His Beloved Battlefield.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Priceless. A second account of a piece of history.
Awesome.
You may be 90, but you still tell a wonderful story. May you have many years yet to tell many more stories!
Great story teller and and very handsome......BTW sir you have great hair !! To be able to meet someone from the battle you studied must have been a once in a life time experience
His mind is sharp, I would not be able to remember names and dates like that. Amazing story, thank you for sharing.
He is amazing historian....listened to him for years
Superb. Glad you got that on video. So much history dies with our elders.
We as a nation need to find all these people and get all their stories. This is the fabric of our nation.
I felt the same way when I read the Custer battle books in the sixties from the people who had been there and mulled all over the maps of the area and always wanted to go see it myself and go on a adventure back in time but never did. I am so happy I have seen this man over the years in countless documentaries about american history and I wish he could know how much I appreciate His determination to be so scholarly on this subject at the right time when he could make contact with the living pieces of these historical events and time's. Thankfully he has passed as much as possible his learnings and there were people who are as interested in this that his passing, as it comes to all of us, almost nothing will be lost to time or memory.
As a former member of Co. C 7th Illinois Cavalry, a Civil War mounted unit, I too became enamored with the lore of the Old West and the Cavalry. I participated as a mounted trooper for some twenty years. I loved going out west to ride old cavalry style once a year. Mr. Utley's book, FORTY MILES A DAY ON BEANS & HAY, became a lesser bible.
I rode 1860's style from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley twice. I've rode section of both the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. I once rode with just the two of us, my horse and myself, from Fort Meade to Fort Robinson over ten days. The morning that I began I paused in the Black Hills Natl. Cemetery at the grave of Sgt. Windolph. I was amazed that he had passed away in 1950. I would have been 1 year old at the time. I was struck by the fact that, that wasn't that awfully long ago.
Fort Robinson, NE, now a state park, is one of my favorite places along with the Black Hills of South Dakota. I participated in the 110th anniversary re-ride of Custer's route to the Little Big Horn. This is the year three of us cavalry troopers rode north from Ft. Robinson to Palmer Gulch. Palmer Gulch is today a huge KOA resort and is where California Joe Milner, Custer's favorite scout, could be found in 1875 panning gold. Once we arrived at Palmer Gulch we had to load up in our modern transport in order to get to the anniversary re-ride. We stopped briefly in Deadwood. Still in costume, we walked up Mount Moriah to see Wild Bill's grave. As I walked back I was drawn to a grave on my left. There I discovered William Dunn a veteran of Co. C, 7th IL Cav.! At the Little Big Horn, I was fortunate to meet the granddaughter of Curly a Crow Scout. She made this comment that stuck me. "This is not just history to me, it is our family history."
Now retired I continue to make historical tours but I've switched to a WWII era jeep. I reason that the jeep did replace the horse during World War Two. I have stopped at Windolph's and Dunn's graves twice since then to pay my respects. In June of 2023 I will be leading another group from the Military Vehicle Preservation Association on the Sidney to Deadwood Gold Rush Trail Convoy. Will I once again stop to pay my respects? I pray so.
Thank You sir, a wonderful remembrance.
Wow! Just wow!
That was awesome!
RIP Mr Utley. Your biography A short and violent life is to this day one of, if not the best books on Billy the kid. 🙏
God bless you Mr. Utley. Have always enjoyed your comments on The History Channel. Good to hear from you here.
That movie did it for me as well
All war is fought by the poor for the next meal...
Wonderful story, I too have to the Little Big Horn Battlefield, a great place to see history.
Very cool story and connection. First visited the battlefield in 1968, at age of 14. Learned that a trooper with my name ( even same middle initial was killed with Custer (not on Last Stand Hill). Revisited in 2015. A park ranger showed me where on the strewn out battlefield the trooper had been killed. Drove down the road to see that small cluster of white markers.
Was glad to see a monument to the Native Americans had also been erected. All the broken treaties by our government - not one of our better legacies.....
Sad to say Uncle Sam has gone back on his word to the Afghan allies to offer them visas; & now they're targets of the Taliban.
Very impressive to say the least!👍👍
I lived in a house at the intersection of Mt Hope and Page St in Saint Paul Minnesota some decades back..
On the northwest corner of the intersection stood what was called the "Custer House" a red brick house whose proportions where those of the 1860's and 1870's. It was substantially built of first class material and workmanship. Sadly all of its stained glass windows were stolen in one day, those windows taken by those who did not know the history they witnessed
Supposedly Custer attended a reception at that house, even it was related, an evening party, when he was in St. Paul on his way to the Dakota Territory with the Seventh Cavalry.
He allowed his troops to purchase uniform articles from St. Paul merchants.
The house was of a different time and one could, when in that house, hear street noises not of the present but of the horse drawn past, the trod of hoofs, the clink and creak of harness and trace.
One street and two houses over lived a woman whose great uncle had been a fur trapper's apprentice in Montana in the year of 1876. They were trapping in a valley when they heard gunfire, gunfire for some hours. from the next, or the next to valley over. The trapper, a Civil War Veteran stopped, told the teenaged apprentice to pack a mule with some supplies and to take the horse down river to where there was a telegraph station a make a telegram, to telegraph a report to the Army about the gunfire, he sent him off with a small sum of cash.
Her great uncle did have the telegram sent off to the Army. They did not know for days of what they had been witness to.
His employer arrived days later, safe, with stories .
Traces...
Thank you for the vignettes, they’re wonderful! Surely you have these treasures assigned places in a lovely journal! You have great offerings should someone be interested in the history, as in journal pieces. Thank you very much for sharing, I’m so glad I looked into comments enough to find yours ~~~~~
Absolute gold! Thank you for providing this!
Wow what an amazing experience Robert Utley had. How special that must be for this good man.
I always loved everything Robert Utley has done
Robert Utley has so much knowledge. I remember him on Discovery and History channel Documentaries. I could listen for hours!
That is the best recollection story I ever heard. Great historian
Wow. Mr. Utley is a year younger than my father, born and raised in South Dakota and who also tild stories of the Old West related to him as a boy by actual pioneers.
And then he would muse about the Indian's perspective.
One of the first book i had was by this gentleman 🙏
We are so blessed to have great audio and video to record men like him.
From my reading about the 7th Cav & the Little Big Horn fight in particular, i've come to the view that Benteen was the man to lead in a crisis, and certainly the man i'd prefer to serve under on a battlefield.
Amazing what we all can learn from people like this in history someone that appreciates history just as much as I do
An amazing experience it would be to talk to veteran of that battle. And what an amazing experience it would be to sit and speak with Robert.
Very,interesting✌️🇺🇸😎,
What an AWESOME opportunity to have met living History!!! I would have loved to have lived earlier and had the opportunity to meet Civil War veterans, and those survivors of the the Little Bighorn, as well as others who took part in the early western expansion..
Mr. Utley is still as sharp as a tack.
What a sweet man to recollect such a horrific event.
Wonderful!
Wonderful oral history!
His book, Cavalier In Buckskin, revolutionized the way history saw Custer. Got it when I first came out and it's excellent.
I agree I did too what's even more amazing is that I worked with his nephew for years until I realized and confirmed his relation to Robert blew me away
I have been to Little Bighorn in early July. It is HOT!
There are a couple of things to add to his story. First of all he said the Indians attacked at dawn. Can't remember where I read it, possibly the Reno Court of Inquiry, but dawn was at 3:30 in the morning. Yes, they fought a real full day. The other thing he left out was every member of that water patrol got the Medal of Honor with the exception of one. No explanation why he didn't get it.
I truly enjoyed this man telling the story. You can tell after speaking with the veteran why he was so enamored of the battle.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video!! As this man described his life as a boy, giving dates and things, I realized he was the same age as my parents st that time. They all graduated in the spring of 1947! It made listening so much more enjoyable, thinking it could have been my dad telling these stories!
Thanks for this video!
Wow ... A LIVING Link To Someone Who Actually KNEW Captain Benteen And Others ? Amazing
Amazing
I would love to visit places like the Little Bighorn, Billy the kids grave, Jess James' grave etc. They were some tough people both men and women. I don't think I could have survived.
I live outside Washington, DC in Northern Virginia. The closest I'll ever get to George Custer will be East Calvary Battlefield up in Gettysburg, PA which I visit four times a year. Unless I hop on a plane and fly to the nearest airport to Little Big Horn.
Brilliant - It's the way you tell it :-)
Robert Utley is GREAT!
The US Military Cemitary on The Battlefield of the Little Bighorn (containing those fallen troopers of the US 7th Cav.) IS THE ONLY US MILITARY CEMITARY IN THE WORLD where the headstones of those fallen are placed at the exact spot at where they fell in battle.
Its true, unless you're studying US History, (or have seen Dustin Hoffman and Fea Dunnaway in "Little Big Man" as Jack Crabb), many youths today are clueless of the Little Bighorn.
I went to the battlefield when I was 10 years old in 1975. Custer, who graduated "Last in his Class" at West Point, was a complete Nimwit, and in my view quite deserving of his fate.
WOW.THAT IS INCREDIBLE.