Custer's Road to Disaster by Kevin Sullivan

Author:Kevin Sullivan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TwoDot
Published: 2013-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

A Calm before the Storm

In April 1871, the Seventh Cavalry was sent to Kentucky, setting up headquarters in Louisville. Apparently this border state—one that had managed to stay within the Union during the Civil War, but was still represented by one of the thirteen stars on the Confederate States flag anyway—was having trouble controlling some of its citizens who had taken up the cause of a new group known as the Ku Klux Klan. This, as well as the attempt by the federal government to stabilize those portions of the South that could be given to trouble, meant that two companies of this now-famous cavalry unit would be garrisoned at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with the remaining companies scattered throughout the South where trouble was breaking out, or was anticipated. For Custer, however, who would not join up with the regiment until early September, it would be exceedingly light duty when compared to the rigors, deprivations, and dangers encountered on the Great Plains, and it would provide some much-needed rest before the regiment once again headed west, toward their march with destiny.

Custer would not arrive in Kentucky until September of 1871, and while he had kind things to say concerning the sleepy little town and its inhabitants, Libbie, who would soon join him, apparently never got over her dislike of the region. The Custers did, however, enjoy coming to Louisville, where an active social life was available to them. From grand balls held at the Galt House Hotel on Main Street, to evenings at the theater, to the purchasing of beautiful thoroughbreds in Louisville and Lexington, the couple obviously reveled in their notoriety and the attention they received. Custer even enjoyed a visit in 1872 with his buffalo-hunting partner from the Plains, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. Not only did they wine and dine the visiting royals in Louisville, but they also made a trip to Mammoth Cave on the duke’s train.

Custer would also make use of this time stalking the plentiful game of the bluegrass country, and while it was not the same exciting romp as a several-mile run over the Great Plains, it did soothe his need for the hunt. And just as was their custom when they were stationed at Fort Hays, the Custers were often seen horseback riding together. Custer would also spend time writing and refining his articles for Galaxy magazine, detailing his part in the Hancock Expedition.1

Besides the cavalry contingent, an infantry company was also garrisoned in the town. All military personnel were housed in buildings located close to the town’s square, and the people were daily witnesses to the structure and activities of the army. That being the case, it was well known by the locals that any immediate action needing to be taken by the troops as a whole would be proceeded by the sounding of a bugle, with the bugler playing the proper notes depending on the type of “emergency” being announced. As such, on occasion, some of “the local lads

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