Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-08-25
Death Of Gen. Custer.

Custer" To those who knew the
man there was nothing ''tragic" OF
even strange about his death. He
simply led handful of brave men
into trap laid by a wary foe, and
they were all killed. There was no
tragedy about it-no butchery. 1t
was simply foe met foe, and one par.
ty was annihilated.
Last summer we had q report of a
similar occurrence on the plains,
Gen. Custer massacred the inhabi-
tants of an Indian village. The re.
port did not call in massacre or a
terrible tragedy, or a butchery, but a
splendid victory"
Sitting Bull is in arms against the
Government of the United States
just as Gen. Lee was once in arms
against the Government of the Unit
ed States. An armed force Is sent
against him just as Gen. Mcclellan
was sent against Gen. Lee. He meets
the armed force and overcomes it,
routs it, annlhilates it, just as Lee
did with Mcclellan and his army,
with the single exception that in the
latter case some of the assailants re-
turned to tell the story.
There is no evidence of excessive
cruelty on the part of the Indians,
while there was no denial of it last
summer when Custer charged the
Indian village.
1t there was any blame attached
to the affair, it seems to me Gen.
Custer was the culprit and not Sit.
ting Bull.
To all those old Soldiers who serv-
ed under Gen. Custer, in Texas, in
1865, the matter will seem like the
natural and inevitable result of the
disposition and character of the
''hero of the razor and the lash," who
could for light and trivial offenscs,
without court martial, infict the pun
ishment of shaving the offenders
head and give him twenty-five lash
es well laid on"
If any man feels little curious to
find evidence of these matters, he
has only to consult the Adjutant
Generals report, State of Iowa, and
read there the report of the lst Iowa
Cavalry, furnished by Lieut.. Col.
Mcqueen. Col. Mcqueen, / believe,
lives at Keokuk, and will stand by
that record.
Gen. Custer, living or dead, must
be judged by the record of his whole
lite. Reckless of his own life or the
lives of his soldiers in war, in peace
despotic, naughty and revengeful in
peace or war, cruel TO those under
him and savage toward his enemy.
write this in no spirit of malice
or revenge, for, with my old COM
rades, l have kept silence while Gen.
Custer has been raised from one po-
sition to another until he seems to
be fast..approaching height that to
the casual observer was almost above
reproach. We have kept silent be-
cause we felt that ''the mills .of the
Gods grind slow, but they grind ex-
ceedingly fine" l knew that the
reckless character of the man would
surely lead him to destruction more
certain than any that could be
brought upon him by any other
means.
There are those who will raise
their hands in holy horror at the
mention of such things as these; but
the spirits of my dead comrades cry
out to me from the fatal wilderness
of Texas, where their bones lie
Neutrality-suspicious. of the cruelty and
criminal neglect and incompetency
of our commander-to vindicate the
truth, and l would be remiss IN my
duty to them should be silent while
the whole country is lauding their
murderer to the skies.
The ''Galaxy" will commence "Gen.
Clusters Reccollections of the War
of the Rebellion" in the September
number. A few facts in reference to
his life and acts In the Texas cam
paign may not be amiss in prepar-
ing the public in advance for those
articles.
Gen. Custer left Alexandria, La,
in August, 1866, with two brgades
of Cavalry, for march of 800 miles
through pine wilderness. His COM
mand had been at Alexandria for
over month, long enough to supply
every wantand provide suitable trans
portation for provisions enough to
have lasted during the march. In
stead of supplying equipments and
transportation we started on the
march in this conditions: Those sol
diers who had been away from their
command in hospital were mounted
on horses BAREBACK. The transpor-
tation was cut down to the lowest
possible limit, being just enough to
carry the baggage and all the COM
forts of home tor Gen. Custer and
staff. The provisions were of the
lowest possible amount. The meat
issued consisted of "blue" beef and
hogs jaws with tusks sac inches long.
Does any doubt the truth of this?-
l ask him to write the State Depart
ment of Wisconsin, where some of
those tusks are kept as relics of that
campaign.
Now, if this march had been taken
during the war there would have been
no complaint of the things spoken of
above. But many thousands of SOL
diers had been mustered out of SER
vice on the lower Mississippi, and
their transportation and equipments
were piled up at Baton Rouge, but
a short distance from Alexandria by
water and Gen. Custer could have
had them for the asking. Now came
the order that "any soldier found out
side the lines or out of camp should
HAVE HIS HEAD SHAVED AND RECEIVE
TWENTY-FIVE LAsHEs WELL LAID ON,
unless accompanied by commission
cd officer" A punishment not only
cruel but excessive and unlawful.
But cruel and heartless as was
this order, the next one laid it COM
pietely in the shade. 1t provided
! that any soldier who should be found