Fort Morgan and Little Bighorn

Fort Morgan featured little in the Indian Wars of the 1860s and 1870s. The purpose of the garrison was to provide protection for emigrants to and from the gold fields of Colorado. The fort was never attacked, as such though there were a number of skirmishes on the prairies. The fort was abandoned in 1868, with the base of operations moving to Fort Laramie, Wyoming so little seems to link the fort with one of the major battles of the age – Little Bighorn. The link is limited, but it is there.

In 1866, the 7^th U. S. Cavalry (often known as Custer’s regiment) was formed. The purpose of this regiment was to fight the various tribes still active in the west. The companies were dispatched to various forts including Fort Morgan. Company L arrived for duty by the end of the year under the command of Captain Michael V. Sheridan (brother to famed General Phillip Sheridan). The company would remain at the fort until June of the following year during which time Colonel Custer (as he was then) chased Indians across the plains. This was a turbulent time for the company with a great many desertions and evidence of internal strife. As soon as the company moved from Fort Morgan, Captain Sheridan was recalled to Washington to serve as aide de camp for his brother and never again held a command. 

Nine years later (June 25, 1876), Company L would fight with Custer’s column at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

General Custer on horseback with his U. S. Army troops in battle with Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 25, 1876, Little Bighorn River, Montana.
Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1876 by Seifert Gugler & Co. with the librarian of Congress at Washington D. C." File copied from http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15330coll22/id/35616

The general term of enlistment was only five years, so most of the men originally serving in Company L had long since been mustered out of service, but a few long-serving men remained to fight alongside Custer.

William G. Abrams, Private is listed on the original muster rolls for Company L, 7^th U. S. Cavalry. He is listed with company L (enlisting – or reenlisting – in 1871) at Fort Morgan. Abrams survived Little Bighorn and died May 28, 1901 in Sioux City, IA.

Joseph Kretschmer [or Kretchmer] was also listed on the original muster rolls for Company L and was stationed in Fort Morgan. Serving with Company D at the time of Little Bighorn, he was wounded but survived and died April 19, 1928 in Washington DC.

Matthew Maroney was also listed on the muster rolls for Company L for May and June of 1867, during which time the company was stationed at Fort Morgan. Maroney was transferred into the company and it is unclear whether he joined the company before or after moving on from Fort Morgan. Maroney served with Company H during the battle. He survived and died December 15, 1880.

    

The final soldier who served at Fort Morgan and fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Edmond D. Tessier died with Custer on June 25, 1876.

As mentioned earlier, Michael V. Sheridan was not serving with his company when it marched with Custer, but serving as aide to his brother. In 1877, Sheridan would be sent to the battlefield with Company I in an attempt to retrieve remains of those killed at the battle and properly bury remains that could not be identified. The bodies of thirteen soldiers, including General Custer’s, were exhumed and sent home for burial.

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Sources:

Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield  

www.friendslittlebighorn.com/7th%20Cav%20Muster%20Rolls.htm

Ronald Hamilton Nichols. In Custer's Shadow: Major Marcus Reno

Jerome A. Greene. Stricken Field: The Little Bighorn Since 1876