Custer's First Sergeant

by Sandy Barnard

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284 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

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Custer’s First Sergeant : John Ryan by Sandy Barnard
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Two wars, 43 engagements, 14 years in the Army, and 30+ years veteran cop; meet John Ryan of Newton, Massachusetts.

First enlisting in the army during the civil war at 16 years of age with the 28th Massachusetts Infantry, John Ryan joined the Irish Brigade and fought through some of the most brutal battles that the civil war offered; Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the overland campaign - being wounded three times at Reams Station in 1864.

At the wars end, Ryan re enlisted in the army in 1866, this time with the 7th Cavalry under General George Armstrong Custer (now Lt. Colonel). He would go on to serve in the 7th for ten years, all under Custer, and would fight the KKK during reconstruction and fight in the Indian wars out west, surviving the Battle of the Little Bighorn under Major Reno’s command. Ryan would attain the rank of 1st Sergeant and retire at that rank in 1876. Incredibly, Ryan lays claim to being the man that fired the first and last shots of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, as well as being the man who buried General Custer.

After the war Ryan would return home and join the Newton police force where he would serve his community for over 30 years, retiring with the rank of Captain.

Ryan was well known in his community and was a self proclaimed “Custer Man” through and through. He would also later be Commander of his local Grand Army of the Republic post in Newton, where he remained very active. He is buried in Waltham, Massachusetts (on the Newton town line) at Calvary Cemetery. I have visited his grave site, where a new stone was erected in his honor in the 1990’s. He also had a park in town named in his honor with plaques describing his service to his country.

The story of Sgt Ryan is fascinating to me, to have so much lived experience and having participated in so many pivotal moments in US history. The humility, service, and sacrifice of the civil war generation never ceases to impress me and serves as a personal inspiration. If one word sums up Sgt Ryan it would certainly be - GRIT.