Synopses & Reviews
In the vast body of material dealing with Custer's "last stand," the journal kept by young Lieutenant James H. Bradley of the Seventh Infantry is at once graphic, incisive, and of first-rate historical importance. It is also little known.
It records in detail the major incidents of the march of the Montana Column, under command of Colonel John Gibbon, to participate in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Beginning on March 17, when five companies of the regiment left Fort Shaw, it traces the progress of the column and ends abruptly with the entry for June 26, when Gibbon's command camped on the site of present Crow Agency, Montana, amid abundant indications that Custerand#8217;s Seventh Cavalry had met with disaster. A letter written by Bradley describing the finding of the bodies on the Custer battlefield on the Little Big Horn is appended to provide a fitting conclusion.
Bradley's journal, however, is much more than an account of a military command moving through unsettled country against a primitive foe. The Lieutenant was a gifted writer with definite scientific and historical interests, a man of infinite curiosity, who not only recorded the daily progress but also added "historical notices of the country traversed." His description of the grief of the Crow scouts on hearing the first news of the disaster of the Little Big Horn is a classic in the literature of the American West. A rare treat for all readers interested in the Indian wars, the journal was first published in a limited edition in 1896.
Review
andldquo;[Bradleyandrsquo;s] experiences with the Indians, his retelling of incidents in Montana history and in his Army lifeandmdash;culminating with a dramatic relation of the first news of Custerandrsquo;s defeatandmdash;all make this book a thrilling addition to the Western collection of any library.andrdquo;andmdash;
Library JournalSynopsis
This is a journal kept by Lieutenant James H. Bradley of the Seventh Infantry, which records in considerable detail the major incidents of the march of the Montana Column, under the command of Colonel John Gibbon, from Fort Shaw to Fort Ellis to participate in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Bradley was engaged in putting his journal into shape from field when he was called to fight another Indian campaign, agains Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces, from which he never returned. So, as not to leave an unfinished story, a letter written by Bradley describing the finding of the bodies of Custer's commanded, is appended to the Journal.
Synopsis
It records in detail the major incidents of the march of the Montana Column, under command of Colonel John Gibbon, to participate in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Beginning on March 17, when five companies of the regiment left Fort Shaw, it traces the progress of the column and ends abruptly with the entry for June 26, when Gibbon's command camped on the site of present Crow Agency, Montana, amid abundant indications that Custerandrsquo;s Seventh Cavalry had met with disaster. A letter written by Bradley describing the finding of the bodies on the Custer battlefield on the Little Big Horn is appended to provide a fitting conclusion.
About the Author
James H. Bradley was an Ohioan who enlisted in the Union Army at the age of seventeen. Remaining in the army after the Civil War, he attained the rank of lieutenant and was sent West to fight the Indians. He was engaged in putting his journal into shape from field notes when he was called to fight another Indian campaign, against Chief Joseph of the Nez Percés, from which he never returned, being killed in action at the Battle of the Big Hole in August, 1877.
Edgar I. Stewart, who provided an illuminating introduction and notes, was a distinguished Western historian, perhaps best known for his incomparable account of the events leading to the Custer disaster-Custerand#39;s Luck, also published by the University of Oklahoma Press.