Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Place:
Little Bighorn Battlefield (Mont.)
Date:
bulk 1905, 1907-1908
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains materials relating to Edward S. Curtis' 1907-1908 investigation into the Battle of Little Bighorn. The collection contains Curtis' notes; transcriptions of eyewitness accounts of Crow scouts Curley (as told to Chas. F. Roe, published in Army & Navy Journal, March 10, 1982) and White Man Runs Him and Cheyenne chief Two Moons; and letters from General Charles A. Woodruff, who was assigned by the U.S. Army to corroborate Curtis's findings in 1908. Also includes a 1905 letter from Francis E. Leupp, Comissioner of Indian Affairs, to Curtis
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) was a photographer, known for his images of Native Americans and of the American West. In preparation for his volume on the Sioux for his 20 volume publication, The North American Indian, he investigated the details of the Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand (June 25, 1876). He first visited the battleground in 1905 and interviewed many of the Sioux participants. He returned in 1907, and with the help of three Crow scouts who were with George Armstrong Custer that day, Curtis retraced Custer's steps on his final day. Curtis submitted a report to President Theodore Roosevelt and army officials, and upon their request, chose not to publish his findings out of deference to Custer's widow, who was alive at the time. Shortly before his death in 1952, Curtis passed on his manuscript to his son Harold with the request that he find a home for his papers. Thirty-six year later, shortly before his own death, Harold donated his father's manuscript to the National Museum of American History. Curtis' manuscript was later transferred to the National Anthropological Archives.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2000-18
Local Note:
See NAA vertical file under "Curtis, Edward S." for more information.
Topic:
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts
Citation:
Manuscript 2000-18, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Custer's chief of scouts : the reminiscences of Charles A. Varnum : including his testimony at the Reno Court of Inquiry / edited by John M. Carroll ; introduction and biographical chronology by Charles K. Mills
Abstract of the official record of proceedings of the Reno Court of Inquiry, convened at Chicago, Illinois, 13 January 1879, by the President of the United States, upon the request of Major Marcus A. Reno, 7th Cavalry, to investigate his conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, 25-26 June, 1876. With a pref. by W. A. Graham
Title:
Reno Court of Inquiry
Author:
Reno, Marcus A (Marcus Albert) 1835-1889 Search this
Graham, W. A (William Alexander) 1875-1954 Search this
United States Army Court of Inquiry (Reno : 1879) Search this
Physical description:
xxx, 303 p. illus., port., maps (part fold.) 24 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1954
[1954]
Topic:
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Search this
