Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed Reviews

This is not a book for beginners of Custer/Montana lore. It can be tedious at times as Gray utilizes time-motion studies to piece together the puzzle of what happened during the Seventh Calvary's final minutes. Since e man of the U.S. Army was killed during this prong of the battle, there are no eyewitness military accounts. Yes, hundreds of Native Americans survived, however few spoke of this battle for fear of punishment and hatred of Anglo historians. Crazy Horse,1of the few Native American leaders during this confrontation, was assassinated a week after arriving on the reservation. So this important man's account was never taken. Thus, we are left with a hodgepodge of hazy Native American reconstructions.

Visiting the battlefield today, which stretches over several miles, solemn white headstones mark the spot where bodies of the Seventh Calvary were found. The location of these stones are included in Gray's complex, mathematical equations. What he's intricately pieced together, with the help of eyewitness accounts, archaeological digs and his own analytical mind, is a realistic result of this unusual battle. His conclusions are perhaps outside of the realm of what people would consider today.

The myth surrounding Custer and Little Bighorn has been shaped by such matinee films as "They Died With Their Boots On," "Little Big Man" and television's "Son of the Morning Star." These films portray Custer as headstrong, vain, heroic and, in1case, a tad insane. however each version, thematically forged by the decade it was filmed, portrays Custer fighting gallantly to the last, standing alone in buckskins while angrily firing his pistol at the approaching Native American hordes. Custer, as if performing the concluding act of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," falls dead to the ground in bloody, poetic, slow motion. It makes for a great painting hanging above the neighborhood bar.

The reality, revealed by Gray's novel, is Custer did indeed have a battle plan rather than making a vain stab at glory. however his forces were simply overwhelmed, chaos ensued, and panicking men were run down like herds of buffalo. It's not poetic, however has war honestly ever been? To understand I america's fascination with this battle,1must 1st read Evan S. Connell's "Son of the Morning Star,"1of the greatest historical nonfiction novels ever written.

Gray discards such weighty wisdom like an old blanket, and scientifically gets to the root of what actually happened. A Last Stand does indeed take place on Custer Hill, where Custer's body was found. Survivors panic, some commit suicide, and Boyer and company frantically run west, fighting and killing in a froth-like animal panic. however west is towards the Native American village they were attacking in the 1st place. They are then desperately cornered in a ravine, a small gully which can be stared at to this day.

When the U.S. Army rides into a primitive village, shooting defenseless women and children, the primitive man will fight back if for no other reason than to protect their families. Like poking a stick into an ant hill, Custer and his Seventh Calvary were overwhelmed, the sorry battle ending in a ditch. Men attempted to claw their way out, perhaps asking themselves how they ended up in such a remote location, dying the loneliest of deaths.

This battle haunts us for a number of reasons, mainly because of our inhumane treatment of the Native American people. So we obsessively analyze this epic Homerian battle, trying to find a moment of heroism, a brief glimpse to help salve our morally guilty wounds. however all we find in Gray's account is wide-eyed reality, and desperate men crying in a ditch. Gray's novel details these horrors in scientific fashion, and unknowingly supplies a glimpse of the dangers of American warrior vanity.

At the center here is the infamous Indian scout, Mitch Boyer and the testimony of the young Curly, survivor with Custer.

Amazing how the evidence Gray presents turns Custer 180o around from what is historically bantered, an aggressive disobiendent hawkish leader. Gray's reconstruction reveals soldier who emphasized and implemented what orders were given to him, to pin the Indians from left flank escape, and all the time awaiting Benteen's company and I ammo train, which never arrived in time.

Disappointed that no chronology chain here shown how the followup takes place to discover the battlefield. Possibly Gray's other books on this subject cover that.

Remarkably well written, able to keep this reader's attention easily even with all the careful calculation checks, etc.