Some things are worth dying for. Like the Plains Indians he had grown to admire so much, he was out of choices. That’s why he was sitting there as the dusk faded into the night in this unseasonably warm fall evening. He stared intently out across the gently sloping plain heavy with sage and other tall grasses. The battlefield was crisscrossed with coulees and ravines that helped defeat Custer. Part of GA hoped the ghosts might present him with alternatives. None were forthcoming.
His gaze settled down into the valley of what was known as the Deep Ravine. That is where it all ended for the 7th on June 25, 1876. After the defensive position they had assumed on what later was known as Last Stand Hill, collapsed and were overrun, about twenty-five to thirty surviving troopers tried to escape to the river by running down the ravine. They were on foot because their horses were dead or run off by women of the tribes.
They never even got close; they were cut down methodically in a couple of minutes. Contrary to popular culture, that was the only evidence on the entire battlefield that combat discipline had broken down among the troopers.
There may have actually been some truth to the Errol Flynn movie version of the battle (They Died with Their Boots On). According to legends told by the Native Americans, there was a final overwhelming charge by the warriors led by Crazy Horse that killed Custer and most of his officers.
The intricacies of the battle, its ramifications, and its impact on American history meant nothing to GA now. What preoccupied his thoughts was how the various troopers reacted at the moment they knew they would not live through the day. Modern forensics completed on the battlefield, and oral histories provided by the Indian combatants, gave him insight.
It told him that some had panicked and run, a few curled into the fetal position and begged for mercy or cried like babies. Others killed themselves rather than fall into their ruthless enemy’s hands. There was even a story told of a single trooper who was able to mount one of the few living horses remaining on the battlefield and break through the Indian lines. He was chased by several mounted warriors. The warriors were just getting ready to give up and let him go so they could return to the battle, when the soldier drew his sidearm and shot himself in the head. Others stood their ground and fought to the death, or having run out of ammunition, waited with seeming indifference for death to come. Or was it resignation? Some would say the calm wasn’t a conscious act on the individual’s part; rather it was the soul coming to grips with their host’s mortal end.
Were those the individuals whose ghosts inhabited the battlefield? A few park rangers swore that early in the morning as the rising sun was trying to burn off the heavy mist that frequently covered the national cemetery named in Custer’s honor, they would spy ghostly apparitions. They claimed they could see them sitting peacefully against the headstones of the dead or wandering the battlefield aimlessly.
The cemetery was GA’s favorite place. Few knew that Major Marcus Reno was buried there; the highest-ranking officer of the 7th to be so. Many thought he didn’t deserve the honor. Others believed it was appropriate if for no other reason than it was Major Reno’s actions that fateful day that allowed any member of Custer’s Division to survive.
How would GA react at the moment of truth? Would he like a Sioux warrior, do his duty to his family, or try to run and hide. Or worse yet, submit. No one ever truly knew the answer to that question until it was too late for anyone to learn the lesson from.
In any case, George Armstrong Custer, aged thirty-seven and a professor of history, at this point had at least one thing in common with his namesake. As each stood on this spot over one hundred and forty years apart, they both knew they wouldn’t survive the day. GA would protect his family, like an Indian warrior. But he would command the battlefield like a mounted cavalry officer. The timing was crucial.
GA checked his watch again. It was time. Actually he was a few minutes behind schedule, but he could make that up on the road. His destiny lay at home but he had a couple of stops to make first. He took a deep breath, and with tears of sorrow in his eyes, surveyed his beloved battlefield one last time.
On his one-hour drive to his final circumstance, GA had time to reflect on the events that occurred about a year ago that brought him to this point.
*********
GA couldn’t believe the words he heard coming out of his wife Elizabeth’s mouth. His mind refused to accept what she was saying because it was incomprehensible.
“Wait, what, please say that again, I don’t think I understood you.” There was a loud rushing noise inside his head.
Lizzie gave a big sigh and shook her head. “The girls said this would probably happen.” She snapped. “Listen sweetie I know this is hard for you, but please just follow along with me. I have been a good mother to our four children and a great wife to you for 13 years. But candidly, I grew bored sitting at home now that the kids are all in school. So, anyway I have taken a lover. Well…. actually several lovers over the past couple of years.”
“You’ve got to be joking me?” Choked out a deeply shocked and disturbed GA.
“Listen carefully to me GA, I am very serious and, we need to talk calmly about how our life will be going forward….”
“Ok, but I think you’ve lost your mind. If this isn’t some sick joke you are playing on me and you really have been cheating on me for years, why tell me now? Why not just continue to slut around behind my back?” He was pacing back and forth; clenching his fists repeatedly with so much pent-up anger inside him he was unaware that he had left his chair.
“Honey, please sit back down. And stop the name-calling. It’s unbecoming of you. There are several reasons actually. The first one is because I was just trying out the lifestyle to see if it was something I liked, and obviously I do. And, I intend on doing a lot more of it. So, that would make it harder to keep you in the dark. Besides, I know you don’t believe it right now, but I do love you and we are going to be married until death does us part. If you accept this then nothing, and I mean nothing, in our life has to change.”
Lizzie had been instructed by the ladies in no uncertain terms, that she should not even hint at the true outcome of her plan. Her ultimate goal was to turn him into a complete submissive. Move her boyfriends freely in and out of the house, and for both families including their children to know fully what was going on.
Interesting how that is the only part of her vows she remembers, GA thought to himself.
“But, if you fight me on this, I will take everything from you. I will get the house; you will get to pay for it. I will get the kids; you will get to pay me very generous child support for a very long time. And, I promise you I will make it as difficult as I possibly can for you to see your children. I will work diligently to eventually turn them against you by convincing them our divorce was your fault. I will also get substantial alimony from you for many years. Oh yeah, and I will get to keep my gentlemen friends, only I will be able to just bring them into what used to be your house and your bed.”