Product Description

The Battle of the Little Bighorn has long held an eminent position among the chronicles of the mythic West. None of the men who rode with Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer to his "Last Stand" survived to tell the tale, but this stunning photography book provides a view of the battlefield as it must have existed in 1876.

The authors James S. Brust, Brian C. Pohanka, and Sandy Barnard searched for elusive documents and photographs, made countless trips to the battlefield, and scrutinized all available sources. Each chapter begins with a concise, lively description of an episode in the battle. The narratives are graphically illustrated by historical photos, which are presented alongside modern photos of the same location on the battlefield. The book also features detailed maps and photographs of battle participants and the early photographers who attempted to tell their story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #869675 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-31
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 226 pages

About the Author
James S. Brust, M.D., a specialist in historical photographs and prints, has published frequently on these topics in journals and magazines. Brian C. Pohanka, who passed away as this book went to press, was a military historian and author of several books. He also was senior researcher, writer, and adviser for Time-Life Books, television documentaries, and feature films. Sandy Barnard is an independent scholar and writer specializing in the Indian wars. He is editor of Greasy Grass and resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

"Where Custer Fell" Its Legacy Will Live On For Decades
The project that sent three historians trudging across every acre of Custer Battlefield and beyond is finally complete - for now. "Where Custer Fell" is a testament to the teamwork, fellow admiration, and knowledge of Dr. James Brust, the late Brian Pohanka, and Sandy Barnard.

The concept behind "Where Custer Fell" is something I've wanted to see ever since I found the book "Yellow Ore, Yellow Hair, Yellow Pine: A Photographic Study of a Century of Forest Ecology" during my first trip to the Black Hills in 1978. The spiral book by Donald R. Progulske and Richard H. Sowell is a study of the 1874 Black Hills expedition led by George A. Custer told in before and after photographs. Photographer Sowell researched historic photos of Custer's camps including the long lines of wagons, livestock, and soldiers beside mountains, forest, and streams. Sowell then hiked throughout the Black Hills to locate the exact spot from which the historic photos were shot - there he set up the camera and snapped a contemporary photo. The before and after photos included in "Yellow Ore" give the reader an opportunity to look at and wonder how much the landscape has changed due to man and nature.

Brust had similar ideas, however his subject would be the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The task he found himself under far outweighed the requirements Sowell encountered - Sowell was looking at one set of historic photos. Brust's monumental mission involved one of the most photographed battlefields of the Indian Wars -- photographers have been active there since 1877!

Brust soon realized that he couldn't do it alone. Coming on board next to help with the project was Brian Pohanka followed not long afterwards by Barnard. Together they would spend many seasons walking over the battlefield - over a decade. Imagine how long it would've taken Brust to do it alone.

"Where Custer Fell" is richly researched and elegantly written. The three authors have provided us an invaluable resource regarding the changing faces of Custer Battlefield - it's quite surprising to discover just how little the face has changed.

The story of Custer's Last Stand has been told in countless books, so why another - what can this book offer that others do not? I have to admit that I don't read every single book regarding this subject because many are just not worth the cost or time required, especially when they are fraught with redundancy or biased viewpoints. We are fortunate that Brust, Pohanka, and Barnard have provided a book that is indeed very much worth its inexpensive price and our time spent studying it.

"Where Custer Fell" is not a rehash of the same old stuff, albeit some of it may be well known to the average Custer buff. However, I dare any buff, after completely reading the book, to walk away without an extensive body of new and refreshing historical material.

We are not forced to waddle through the causes and aftermath of the Sioux War - instead, the authors start their story as Custer divides his forces the afternoon of June 25, 1876. The narrative is the most all-embracing and satisfying telling of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in decades - even for the expert. Sharing in this adventure are the wonderful historic and comparison photos. As I turned each page the excitement of what the next photo might reveal was masterful.

The authors provide many interpretations from different historians, however they set their own course; analyze the facts, and draw their own unique conclusions. The narrative does not burden us with finger pointing or blaming of individual battle participants. The story is told, as all books on this subject should be, in a completely objective manner. And, in doing so, the narrative does not fall into a common trap when telling this story - the authors do not speculate or pretend to know what a battle participant may have been thinking just to fill any unknowns or gaps. "Where Custer Fell" is history written at its best.

What are some questions the authors help answer?

·Identification of Reno's first crossing of the Little Bighorn.
·Location of the morass.
·Exceptional analysis of the Valley Fight including the skirmish line, and the location of the timber that Reno's forces moved into from the skirmish line.
·Fascinating events surrounding the Charlie Reynolds and Donald McIntosh markers.
·Whether the Reno-Benteen Monument was moved from a different location.
·New revelations for the true locations of the Butler and Bobo markers.
.How far north of Last Stand Hill did Custer's battalion do battle.
·How much, if at all, Last Stand Hill has changed since 1876.

That just touches the surface of what is covered in this book - there is so much more.

The authors save their most extensive coverage for Last Stand Hill. A worthwhile map is included which locates each marker, within the fence, and its respective number along with identification of each officer's marker. Included is an impressive full-page photo - the first taken of Last Stand Hill in 1877 by John Fouch. And, as the books' title promises, the authors put to rest the debate as to where Custer actually fell with clear and persuasive evidence.

Predominantly, the complete photographic study delivers a most gratifying finish -- assurance that efforts by the NPS and countless individuals have achieved a remarkable accomplishment with maintaining the battlefield and surrounding environs in pristine condition. When we visit the Custer Battlefield we see pretty much what Custer, Reno, Benteen, and hundreds of the soldiers and Indians saw on June 25-26, 1876.

I cannot speak lightly regarding the significance of "Where Custer Fell." Its legacy will live on for decades much like Edgar Stewart's "Custer's Luck" and John Gray's "Custer's Last Battle."

Note: Each chapter includes a topographical map pinpointing the location of each photo presented - a simple but valuable tool that makes following the storyline easy.

You can learn more about this book by reading interviews with the authors Dr. James Brust and Sandy Barnard at the Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield website -- friendslittlebighorn.com

A Fantastic Work
Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now will be a classic before you know it. It will no doubt become a must addition to the earlier Little Big Horn chroniclers such as Kuhlman, Graham, and Luce.

Wonderfully organized, Where Custer Fell matches many early and in some cases very rare photographs of the Custer and Reno battlefield with modern pictures taken from the same vantage point. Perhaps equally important is the fact the the photos are offered in roughly the same chronology as the battle itself. For example, Chapter four provides photos of the Crows Nest then and now as well as the famous morass. Then Chapter five deals with the Valley Fight and provides the appropriate photos. This is so far superior to the usual cluster of pictures that are lumped together in isolation of the text that deals with them and makes constant referral to them easy.

But Where Custer Fell is much more. The authors manage to provide an informed analysis of the battle and the aftermath. Through sound research and enormous quantities of patience, Brust, Pohanka, and Barnard manage to do what so many amateurs, myself included, have not been able to do and that is visit sites recorded in early photographs and then record how those sites look today.

Having visited the the Little Big Horn battle field as a young child, I have never been able to shake the memory of standing on last stand hill and gazing at the marble markers both near and far.

If you're a serious student of Custer and the Little Big Horn Battle, Where Custer Fell will be an important addition to your library.

I highly recommend it.

Fascinating Study with Evolving Historical Photos
While visiting the Little Big Horn a few years ago, I was surprised to learn that although Custer's marker is 15 yards below the peak of Custer Hill, the actually location of his body was on the very top of the hill. This is one of the many fascinating aspects of this book. The current marker indicates where Custer was burried, but through early historical photos, the authors do in fact locate Custer's death site on the very top of the hill a few feet south of the present day monument. Through a series of original early photographs from various periods of time, many relatively rare or recently discovered, much is revealed about the Custer battlefield adding to the history, sometimes correcting markers, which enabled historians and superintendents over the years to relocate some of those controversial markers to their correct location (Sgt. Butler's). Sandy Barnard, who is the editor of `Greasy Grass' magazine, and the late Brian Pohanka, a great western and Civil War historian and preservationist, team with James Brust, a historical photographic expert to produce a book that provides a fascinating catalogue of photographs showing the battlefield in its early stages, and progressively through time through later photos and recent modern pictures. The narrative of the book looks at the Little Big Horn fight using contemporray accounts combined with witness testimonies in a straight forward up to date history and theories, while matching the various locations with these revealing photographs providing fascinating insight to this mysterious puzzle of a battle. This book compares well with Frassanito's great book on Gettysburg that also combined historical photographs with present day photos often adding new light to the exact location of where the historical shots were taken. The Custer book studies the battle virtually as it was fought with photos staggered to show the ford at Reno Creek to the valley floor to progressively covering the entire battlefield back to Reno-Benteen Hill, Weir Point, Medicine Trail Coulee, Finkle-Finley Knoll, Calhoun Hill, the Keogh sector, Deep ravine, the Cemetery knoll and Custer Hill of course. Fascinating revelations from photos combined with relatively recent archeological data (Fox and Scott) with findings including the location of where scout Lonesome Charlie fell, the location of the morass, lone tepee, the question of where Sergeant Butler fell and identity, determining the various roles of Company C, the skirmish line on Calhoun Hill, the collapse of company I, the flight to Custer Hill, the relation of Company E in Deep Ravine, the south skirmish line, company F on Custer Hill and so on.
The pictures zeroing in on the markers with testimonials of the Benteen-Reno Hill survivors demonstrate the role that each company made in the stand and where and also demonstrates where there was collapse and possible rout like retreats toward Calhoun Hill and Custer Hill. The photographs and contemporary history also place the theory that E troop fought as a company in and around Deep Ravine with survivors from Custer Hill making their ill fated attempt to join them certianly seem very possible as their markers appear to be a flight line, not a skirmish line. The historical testimonies also indicate that certian markers were located out of respect for survivors back home like the Sturgis family whose son's body was never found or indentified. Very unfortunate that Cemetery Hill was not preserved initially as other archeological findings might have identified that ridge as a holding pattern as Luce did on the ridge named after him. Through photographs, even the best-read LBH historian will enjoy this book and the pictures add so much to the history. As noted previously, the actual location of where Custer fell shown by a large stake that was clearly pictured a year after the battle in a relatively unknown 1877-8 photograph is a major find. In addition, the skeletons of several horses around Custer's death site indicate that there was a possible defense line. Combined with the modern picture, we all now know approximately where Custer's body was found. Although this may look like a coffe table book, it is large because the photographs are large and well defined combined with a detailed historical narrative that is enough to stand on its own, bringing testimonies with photographs to a very satisfying informative level. This book is one of the most satisfying, unique studies on the LBH.