Posted by Glenn Valis on August 15, 2001 at 21:13:03:
In Reply to: Is it just me?(apologies Mr. Valis) posted by Roger Kettle on August 10, 2001 at 15:18:05:
: Is it just me or do other people have problems posting replies on this site?Anyway,a point I'd like to make about the archaelogical findings at the Little Bighorn,Glenn,is that I'm really not convinced about the accuracy of them....
Yes, messages seem to go into the ether and disappear. Several of mine have...
Cartridge shells were found over a large part of the battlefield, but were not found in piles, as would be expected if they had been collected by children, etc. They seemed to be as originally lost/placed, without evidence of tampering. There is a question on how much cartridge gathering has affected the results- has souvinier hunting removed enough to make it look like the troops did not do much heavy firing?
Of more importance is the fact that the map from the archeological study is incorrect. The markers are incorrectly mapped, with significant errors. Markers can be checked, but the finding of artifacts can not. Read the last chapter of "The Mystery of E Troop" by Michno. Heck, read the whole book, its good.
Certain facts still stand out. A large number of shells were not found, so the troops did not fight long or hard. Light skirmishing lead to a rapid collapse. At least one forth of the Indians were armed with firearms, mostly repeaters, and they were able to fire from effective ranges, probably a factor in the quick collapse. How quick is being debated. Which area collapsed first is in question.