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Post by whitebull on Aug 22, 2013 15:36:39 GMT -5
I wuz born dat way-cha,cha,cha! ;D
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Post by joewiggs on Dec 31, 2013 19:49:29 GMT -5
The Last Stand
Nathaniel Philbrick
"Hindsight has a way of corrupting people's memories, inviting them to a view a past event not as it actually occurred but as they wished it had occurred giving the ultimate [final] result.
After the disaster, Terry, Gibbon, Brisbin, and Hughes all assured one another that the plan would have worked wonderfully well if Custer had simply obeyed orders his orders and followed the blue pencil line. If he had done this, he would have arrived at the Little Big Horn just as Terry and Gibson approached from the north and victory would have been theirs.
But this does not appear to be what was considered the most likely scenario even at the actual time of the meeting.
One of the few contemporary accounts we have is provided by Gibbon's chief of scouts, Lieutenant James Bradley.
'It is understood that if Custer arrives first he is at liberty to attack at once if he deems it prudent. We have little hope of being at the death, as Custer will undoubtedly exert himself and his regiment.'
There is also the testimony of the interpreter Fred Gerard. Unlike the officers who attended the meeting on the Far West, Gerard had nothing to hide. Gerard said that he overheard Terry repeat the verbal instructions he had given Custer. 'I told him, Terry said, if he found the Indians not to do as Reno did, but if he thought he could whip them to do so.'
Finally there is the testimony of Custer's friend the actor Lawrence Barrett. Bare tt visited Terry and his staff in St. Paul several months after the battle. '[The] story of [Custer's] disobedience of orders is false.'
He wrote to his wife on October 3, 1876, 'as he [Custer] was told to act accordingly to his own judgment as his final interview with Terry.'Pages 98-99
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Post by stumblingbear on Jan 1, 2014 12:41:05 GMT -5
Makes a whole lot of sense to me! Four men make a plan, the plan don't work and one of the three gets himself killed in the process. The other three do what? Blame that partner that got himself killed!  Ain't it human nature to over look your responsibility in anything that comes out bad but up the ante in anything you took a part in that comes out right That's the nature of the beast.. |
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Post by joewiggs on Jan 22, 2014 13:11:46 GMT -5
What you say is certainly true and, to make matters worse, our ability to discern what really occurred doing the battle is further complicated by mis-truths that were not necessary at all.
The lack of witnesses of Custer's demise enables the survivors to literally create their own "reality" of what happened.
It is this very factor which has gone so far to produce the controversy and acute opposition between two groups;Custerphobes and Custerphiles.
In summation, they who believe Custer was responsible will always interpret history in that vein, disregarding testimony and evidence that does not substantiate their view. The opposing group, of course, does likewise.
This factor is the substantial and eternal element that will keep this battle alive for at least another hundred years although, historically, it was rather a very insignificant one.
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Post by stumblingbear on Jan 24, 2014 13:10:26 GMT -5
I guess if you think that everything was Custer's fault or if you think that everything was Reno's fault then your view point will always be ff kilter. Too many things happened in too many time frames to suggest that a single person is responsible for the outcome of this battle!
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Post by jackieg on Feb 4, 2014 14:28:00 GMT -5
I guess if you think that everything was Custer's fault or if you think that everything was Reno's fault then your view point will always be ff kilter. Too many things happened in too many time frames to suggest that a single person is responsible for the outcome of this battle! I agree! Life and war are to complex for one person to be totally accountable for! |
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Post by joewiggs on Feb 19, 2014 12:09:29 GMT -5
I guess if you think that everything was Custer's fault or if you think that everything was Reno's fault then your view point will always be ff kilter. Too many things happened in too many time frames to suggest that a single person is responsible for the outcome of this battle! I agree! Life and war are to complex for one person to be totally accountable for! Students who persist in personalizing battle events as a personification of an individual will often stumble! |
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