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American Exploration and Travel Series
The March of the Montana Column: A Prelude to the Custer Disaster
In the vast body of material dealing with Custer's "last stand," the journal kept by young Lieutenant James H. Bradley of the Seventh Infantry is at once graphic, incisive, and of first-rate historical importance. It is also little known.
It records in detail the major incidents of the march of the Montana Column, under command of Colonel John Gibbon, to participate in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Beginning on March 17, when five companies of the regiment left Fort Shaw, it traces the progress of the column and ends abruptly with the entry for June 26, when Gibbon's command camped on the site of present Crow Agency, Montana, amid abundant indications that Custer’s Seventh Cavalry had met with disaster. A letter written by Bradley describing the finding of the bodies on the Custer battlefield on the Little Big Horn is appended to provide a fitting conclusion.
Bradley's journal, however, is much more than an account of a military command moving through unsettled country against a primitive foe. The Lieutenant was a gifted writer with definite scientific and historical interests, a man of infinite curiosity, who not only recorded the daily progress but also added "historical notices of the country traversed." His description of the grief of the Crow scouts on hearing the first news of the disaster of the Little Big Horn is a classic in the literature of the American West. A rare treat for all readers interested in the Indian wars, the journal was first published in a limited edition in 1896.
It records in detail the major incidents of the march of the Montana Column, under command of Colonel John Gibbon, to participate in the Sioux campaign of 1876. Beginning on March 17, when five companies of the regiment left Fort Shaw, it traces the progress of the column and ends abruptly with the entry for June 26, when Gibbon's command camped on the site of present Crow Agency, Montana, amid abundant indications that Custer’s Seventh Cavalry had met with disaster. A letter written by Bradley describing the finding of the bodies on the Custer battlefield on the Little Big Horn is appended to provide a fitting conclusion.
Bradley's journal, however, is much more than an account of a military command moving through unsettled country against a primitive foe. The Lieutenant was a gifted writer with definite scientific and historical interests, a man of infinite curiosity, who not only recorded the daily progress but also added "historical notices of the country traversed." His description of the grief of the Crow scouts on hearing the first news of the disaster of the Little Big Horn is a classic in the literature of the American West. A rare treat for all readers interested in the Indian wars, the journal was first published in a limited edition in 1896.
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 9, 2020
When I visited the Little Big Horn Battlefield in September of 2018, our guide, James Hessler, mentioned that if one truly wants to complete their understanding of the 1876 Sioux War Campaign then one must read Lieutenant James Bradley’s journal. Bradley was with one of the three columns, Colonel John Gibbon’s Montana Column, sent to suppress the “hostiles”. I could not agree more with Jim.
This is a very good read for the young officer had a gift for telling his story to the reader. Bradley is curious and descriptive of everything he sees. He thirsts for knowledge of the Montana Territory and the American West. He is especially fascinated with the early to mid-nineteen century fur trading.
The journal starts when Gibbon’s Column left Fort Shaw in March of 1876 and ends with the news of (spoiler alert) Custer’s defeat on June 26. Along the way he presents a detailed daily account of what happened. His writing of the hardships, the successes, the judgement of officers, and the Crow Indian scouts that were used is masterful. Also we see how an army struggles with the ever-changing weather in the West with snow and sub-freezing temperatures, scorching hot days, and the almost Biblical rain storms. He explains the disability of snow blindness and the cures used from the Indians and the frontiersmen. When mentioning the Indian method he humorously writes that he would rather prevent the snow blindness from happening in the first place rather than use the cure.
The journal ends abruptly when Bradley and his scouts first learn of the Custer demise followed by him relaying the information to Generals Terry and Gibbon. This is a griping narrative for the reader can truly sense the shock and disbelief. From the moment the Crow Indian scouts start wailing on hearing some of their own were killed to the apprehension felt by the officers and men of the camp, the reader is there with them.
We know that Bradley will see the site of the massacre on the next day, but he does not write of it in his journal. However, this book version does have a letter written by Bradley to the Helena Herald on July of 1876 briefly describing the scene.
Bradley did not continue his journal because in 1877 he was called with his 7th Infantry Regiment to campaign against the Nez Perce Indians, and he was killed at the Battle of Big Hole, Montana, in August.
I enjoyed the book, and if you want to learn more of the important Sioux War Campaign of 1876, Montana, and the American West, then I encourage you to join this gifted writer, Lieutenant James Bradley, and see it through his eyes.
This is a very good read for the young officer had a gift for telling his story to the reader. Bradley is curious and descriptive of everything he sees. He thirsts for knowledge of the Montana Territory and the American West. He is especially fascinated with the early to mid-nineteen century fur trading.
The journal starts when Gibbon’s Column left Fort Shaw in March of 1876 and ends with the news of (spoiler alert) Custer’s defeat on June 26. Along the way he presents a detailed daily account of what happened. His writing of the hardships, the successes, the judgement of officers, and the Crow Indian scouts that were used is masterful. Also we see how an army struggles with the ever-changing weather in the West with snow and sub-freezing temperatures, scorching hot days, and the almost Biblical rain storms. He explains the disability of snow blindness and the cures used from the Indians and the frontiersmen. When mentioning the Indian method he humorously writes that he would rather prevent the snow blindness from happening in the first place rather than use the cure.
The journal ends abruptly when Bradley and his scouts first learn of the Custer demise followed by him relaying the information to Generals Terry and Gibbon. This is a griping narrative for the reader can truly sense the shock and disbelief. From the moment the Crow Indian scouts start wailing on hearing some of their own were killed to the apprehension felt by the officers and men of the camp, the reader is there with them.
We know that Bradley will see the site of the massacre on the next day, but he does not write of it in his journal. However, this book version does have a letter written by Bradley to the Helena Herald on July of 1876 briefly describing the scene.
Bradley did not continue his journal because in 1877 he was called with his 7th Infantry Regiment to campaign against the Nez Perce Indians, and he was killed at the Battle of Big Hole, Montana, in August.
I enjoyed the book, and if you want to learn more of the important Sioux War Campaign of 1876, Montana, and the American West, then I encourage you to join this gifted writer, Lieutenant James Bradley, and see it through his eyes.
September 22, 2019
Remarkable.
What a pity Lt Bradley lost his life before being able to finish his account and go on to leave other works for future historians/readers.
What a pity Lt Bradley lost his life before being able to finish his account and go on to leave other works for future historians/readers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews