Survivors

The life and adventures of Charles Windolph, the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, are those of a true survivor. Two years before his 100th birthday, Windolph died on March 11, 1950, but left as part of his legacy a "vivid first person account of the military disaster that wiped out George Armstrong Custer and 212 of his Seventh Cavalry troopers," (Jones, p. 1). Yet the stories and memories offered by Windolph of his engagement with Custer on that fateful day demonstrate that the tragedy of the Battle of the Little Bighorn was a tragedy for both U.S. troops and Native Americans.

Originally from Germany, like many other immigrants who came to the United States in the same era, Charles Windolph discovered that his greatest chance for employment lie in enlisting in the U.S. military. At the age of 19 he immigrated to American to escape Germany's compulsory draft and ironically wound up being sworn into Company H, Seventh Cavalry in 1870, (Jones, p. 1). The era was a time of Westward expansion in the United States, complete with conflict between U.S. troops and Native Americans. From the need for study in the creation of National Parks like Yellowstone to engineering surveys and exploratory expeditions, the Native American could no longer deny the increasing encroachment of white settlers on Indian lands. After being station in Nashville, Tennessee, for the first three years of duty, Windolph became part of the military escort provided by Cust

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e see that the men who did serve in the cavalry had to be closely scrutinized and monitored or they might rush out each payday and spend all their earnings on alcohol and prostitutes. Before he gives his men their pay, pay that Windolph is certain was mainly collected by the Sioux who massacred 212 cavalry, General Custer "ensured his men couldn't go on a last spree in the saloons and bordellos of Bismarck," (Jones, p. 2). We see that for those troops who did make it to the battlefield with or without their pay in tow, there were often horrific consequences as they paid the ultimate price of their lives in America's conflict with Native Americans. While describing the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we see that the men are surrounded by Indians and being whipped in battle with no aid. There are few means of communication or seeking assistance in these conditions, and many of the men began to lose heart when there was no help from or word regarding the condition or whereabouts of General Custer. Those able-bodied enough to fight often spent sleepless nights in terror as gunfire would sound all around them. For those who were already wounded or dying, there was no means of lessening their pain and supplies were non-existent or

Category: History -