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Message
Suicide among Custer’s soldiers.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:20 pm
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:20 pm
LINK
quote:
Historical accounts of the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn report that many of Gen. George Custer’s 7th Cavalry soldiers shot themselves to avoid being killed by Native American warriors after the crushing defeat. But a preliminary skeletal analysis, presented April 12 at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting, suggests suicides were relatively rare among Custer’s overwhelmed forces
quote:
“No doubt suicides happened among Custer’s men, but perhaps not on the grand scale previously suggested,” said bioarchaeologist Genevieve Mielke of the University of Montana in Missoula.
Just over 1 percent of the U.S. Army at that time, 268 soldiers, died in the battle in Montana.
Mielke reviewed 30 written battle accounts taken from Native American fighters and army soldiers in nearby regiments, and found that 14 described instances of Custer’s men killing themselves with revolvers.
Yet data on skeletal injuries of 31 of Custer’s soldiers indicate only three committed suicide by firing a gun into their head, Mielke reported. In contrast, 22 soldiers had skeletal damage consistent with dismemberment, scalping or other mutilations.
quote:
These data were previously published by two teams that excavated and then reburied 7th Cavalry soldiers who died at Little Big Horn. One project took place in the 1980s, the other in the 1990s.
Mielke did not have access to any skeletons of Custer’s men.
Evidence suggests that today’s soldiers enter military service at an elevated risk of killing themselves (SN: 1/9/16, p. 22). If that were true for 19th century soldiers, it’s plausible that many of Custer’s men would have committed suicide in the face of certain torture and death. For now, “the actual prevalence of suicide during the Battle of Little Bighorn remains unknown,” Mielke said. A larger study of deceased 7th Cavalry soldiers would be needed to estimate how many took their own lives.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:24 pm to AnorexicGator
Yeah yeah.. more propaganda for SJWs to celebrate the evil white man getting killed by Indians.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:28 pm to AnorexicGator
268 casualties was more than 1% of the Regular Army of the time? That's incredible.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:40 pm to The Boat
quote:
Yeah yeah.. more propaganda for SJWs to celebrate the evil white man getting killed by Indians.
Custer was pretty much a shitheel. You need a different example to if you want to feel butthurt over something.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:46 pm to HempHead
That jumped out to me as well.
Did Custer underestimate the number of Indians there were or just how hard the Indians would fight?
Did Custer underestimate the number of Indians there were or just how hard the Indians would fight?
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:52 pm to tWildcat
Both. The usual Indian MO was to fight just long enough to give the women and children time to scatter. Custer disobeyed orders to wait for reinforcements, but his decision was a sound one based on what he knew of Indian tactics. Unfortunately for him and his command, the Indians threw out the playbook.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 3:58 pm to Jim Rockford
That battle has always fascinated me. From the top of those hills, I guess they never could've imagined so many Sioux warriors were hidden in those trees along the river.
Are there any truly reliable accounts of what happened? Seems like there were so many conflicting stories from survivors regarding the attack and retreat.
Regardless, Custer F'd up that day.
Are there any truly reliable accounts of what happened? Seems like there were so many conflicting stories from survivors regarding the attack and retreat.
Regardless, Custer F'd up that day.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:01 pm to tWildcat
Anybody who is interested in Custer or The Little Bighorn should check out A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn. Very good book.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:05 pm to AnorexicGator
Seems like a non story. Very inconclusive.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:08 pm to Marciano1
The Indians were extensively interviewed but it was years later, and some of them were probably still reluctant to speak freely. Most accounts say Custer was hit early in the battle and things fell apart from there.
Re: survivors. There were many claims, almost all fakes. There was one that may have been legit. On my phone, will try to link later.
Re: survivors. There were many claims, almost all fakes. There was one that may have been legit. On my phone, will try to link later.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:08 pm to tWildcat
quote:That, poor timing and a geographical disadvantage as well. I had a relative die there.
Did Custer underestimate the number of Indians there were or just how hard the Indians would fight?
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:25 pm to AnorexicGator
quote:
found that 14 described instances of Custer’s men killing themselves with revolvers.
Yet data on skeletal injuries of 31 of Custer’s soldiers indicate only three committed suicide by firing a gun into their head, Mielke reported. In contrast, 22 soldiers had skeletal damage consistent with dismemberment, scalping or other mutilations.
3 of 31 is 9 1/2 %
14 of 268 total dead based on accounts is only 5%.
Extrapolating that number using the sample of 31 skeletons, 25 men would have killed themselves. So the historical account is likely accurate, or it's even more than they thought.
What a stupid article
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:49 pm to AnorexicGator
The best book I’ve read on the subject is The Last Stand, by Nathaniel Philbrick. 400 pages, 75 of which are notes and a score or more of photos and maps all correlated. I would recommend it highly. No mention that I recall of suicide.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:52 pm to AnorexicGator
They were in one of those "Fight to the Death" situations.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:52 pm to deltaland
quote:
What a stupid article
That's what I was saying. Just with a trolly spin. It's basically an Indian version of "we wuz kangz" article.
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:57 pm to ninthward
quote:
I had a relative die there.
I guess we all died a little in that damn war
Posted on 4/23/18 at 4:58 pm to Marciano1
quote:
Are there any truly reliable accounts of what happened?
Louis L'Amour gives a cool, but brief, second hand account of the battle in his book Education of Wandering Man.
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