A newly discovered account of an infamous battle by a nineteenth-century corporal from the U.S. Seventh Cavalry on burial duty at Custer's last stand reconstructs troop movements and comments on the commanders, their men, the campaign, and their enemies. 40,000 first printing. $40,000 ad/promo. Tour.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Custer mania rides again! Every 20 years or so, interest in the story and legend of General Custer revives. And with the release of a spate of new books--and at least one movie--we seem to be nearing the crescendo of another such outbreak. With Custer on the Little Bighorn is one of the more interesting of this wave's batch of offerings. Written some four decades after the Battle of Little Bighorn by William O. Taylor, a former soldier in Custer's battalion, the book provides a level-headed account of the times--and the day in question--from someone who was there. In the process, Taylor shares his ambivalence over the mission that the army he fought for was engaged. Describing an encounter with a band of Indians he writes: "a howling mass of red warriors, naked to the waist, who, maddened and desperate by the terrified cries of the wives and children whose lives were put in jeopardy for the third time within a few weeks, rushed from their camps . . . They seemed to us . . . like fiends incarnate, but were they?"
From Publishers Weekly
On June 25, 1876, as General George Armstrong Custer and his soldiers fell to Sioux warriors, Taylor, a private in Troop A of the 7th Cavalry who had just ridden into battle with Major Marcus Reno, was bunkered down, under siege, in a valley below the Little Bighorn. Three days later, he helped bury Custer's troops. Discharged for reasons of health in 1877, Taylor became a lifelong student of his first and only battle. Six years before he died, he completed this previously unpublished memoir/history, which was purchased by editor Martin in 1995. The text integrates Taylor's personal memories with extensive borrowings from such then standard sources as Elizabeth B. Custer's Boots and Saddles and John Finerty's War-Path and Bivouac. Taylor's clear prose style as well as his handwriting, of which several pages are reproduced, pay tribute to the effectiveness of the common schools of New York State at mid-19th century. The author's sympathy for the Indians, his dislike of Reno and his belief that Custer was a victim of his own overconfidence reflect prevailing turn-of-the-century opinions without adding much to the respective debates. The narrative, on the other hand, offers vivid and original firsthand accounts of both the confused retreat of Reno's battalion across the Little Bighorn River and the grisly process of identifying and interring the already decomposing corpses on the site of the Last Stand. Martin's first-rate editing makes the most of a volume that will delight Custer buffs and engage scholars of the campaign. Photos. Editor tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With Custer on the Little Bighorn,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: With Custer on the Little Bighorn: A Newly Discovered First-Person Account by William O. Taylor (Hardcover)
I read this book twice which is something I have never done before. The first time, I borrowed it from the public library. The second time, I purchased it from Amazon. One of the best accounts of the Little Bighorn battle I have read, and I have read many books on the subject. Highly recommended.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding, vivid, first-hand account,
By Steph (Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: With Custer on the Little Bighorn: A Newly Discovered First-Person Account by William O. Taylor (Hardcover)
This book brings you into the heart and head of the ordinary cavalryman. You get an up close idea on what it must have been like to be on the advance with Custer and his men, and for a little while you can see the flash of tinderboxes as the toops marched through the night, and the distant gaze of Custer as he sat outside his tent on the eve of battle. Intriguing!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Battle of the Little Big Horn,
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This review is from: With Custer on the Little Bighorn: A Newly Discovered First-Person Account by William O. Taylor (Hardcover)
This is a first hand account written by a soldier who fought with Reno in the battle of the Little Big Horn. He seems to have made a sincere attempt at providing an accurate account of this historical event. He was possessed, and deeply effected by the battle, and spent his life studying it and comparing his memory with other survivors who had participated in the battle, both Indian and Whites.
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