Posted by Mike Kraybill on August 25, 1999 at 13:26:11:
In Reply to: Bighorn battle should not be on this list! posted by Don Detzel on June 27, 1999 at 12:56:08:
Don,you said it better than I did. Custer should have been fragged. M.K.
: Custer's insubordinate attack on people looking for food and lifestyle supplies SHOULD NOT be included on a list with the other three military conflicts mentioned! This upsets me even though I can't claim any Native American ancestors. If Bighorn is included, then the premise of a military encounter "against all odds" could be extended to the hypothetical situation of a pilot of a troop transport aircraft having an attack of dementia, and crashing the fully loaded plane into a hillside next to the enemy camp. As the few survivors slowly crawl out of the crashed plane, they are cut down by enemy soldiers who were in the middle of eating and resting from a long march. Yes, the situation for the crashed soldiers was hopeless, but can we include them on a list containing the names Gettysburg and Alamo? Obviously not, and the same, I say, concerning Little Bighorn.
: I'm a 43-year-old white, male, high school Social Studies teacher in Erie, Pa, who used to play "cowboys and Indians" as a kid, and learned my first history lessons about the "Red Man" from Hollywood presentations in movies and television throughout the '60's. After finding out what I have, over the last few years of research, concerning the battle, its background, and specifically, Custer's behavioral history, I can't believe that that person is or has been, treated by some as a sort of glamorous, romantic hero. Aside from the fact that the entire premise upon which the "3-pronged roundup" rested was bogus, Custer's behavior was outright insubordination. Therefore, I submit that anyone with any familial connections to a slain soldier (or his horse), should hold Custer personally responsible for the death of their relative/friend, and certainly not any of the Native Americans who were defending themselves and their families.
: Custer was reckless and personally lucky, not courageous and militarily skilled. Large numbers of his own men were killed in and after the Civil War, because of his foolish, careless vanity. And, he had a history of attacking unarmed, innocent Indians for the purpose of killing, not taking prisoner.
: When I think back upon how I was taught about chivalrous cavalry soldiers fighting bloodthirsty savages, it makes me want to puke, as well as slap anyone who presented that image to me when I was a child. Who can blame any Native American for being sarcastic, cynical, or hateful toward the descendants of the invaders?
: Since I live, and am happy with, a middle class American lifestyle, it would be ingenuous of me to say that this or that should have been different. Native Americans' lives were not improved by the presence of the Europeans, and since the two lifestyles were diametrically opposed, the only obvious solution would have been for Columbus (or whomever) to turn back and never return.
: All I can say is that my two boys will learn the truth, and also the correct way to treat other people, especially those who may be less fortunate than them.