Old West Book Review: Health of the Seventh Cavalry; A Medical History
Health of the Seventh Cavalry; A Medical History, Edited by P. Willey and Douglas D. Scott, University of Oklahoma Press, (405) 325-3200, $3295, Cloth. 480 Pages, Illustrations, Maps, Graphics, Charts, Bibliography, Index.
Persons interested in the life and times of members of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry will find this book a treasure trove of information pertaining to the health of these soldiers.
The time period covered is 1866 through the early 1880s. The first chapter talks about the Regimental history of the Seventh, beginning at the end of the Civil War. At this time the Seventh began moving westward to deal with hostile Indians of the Plains. Of course anything to do with the Seventh Cavalry must include information about General George Armstrong Custer, eventually leading to the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
But long before the Little Big Horn, in July 1866, Seventh Cavalry troops were assembling at Fort Riley, Kansas. From here they were dispersed toward the western Plains from Ft. Riley and beyond. One table in the book shows the Seventh Cavalry company assignments by year all the way to 1882.
The authors give detailed descriptions of the various living quarters, expeditions, care of horses, weather conditions and the like. There is one particularly sobering photograph of the arrow-riddled Sergeant Frederick Wyllyams of Company G where he was murdered and mutilated by hostile Indians in 1867.
Always the book’s focus is on the health of the soldiers from information gleaned from, medical records as well as personal accounts written by those who lived and traveled with the troops. Occasionally we hear from Elizabeth Custer and a few other wives as they described weather conditions, injuries, epidemics, living quarters and social events within the forts.
The men of the Seventh were attended by military physicians who had been doctors during the Civil War. A list of their names and dates they served is included here. They treated insect and snake bites, gunshot wounds, venereal disease, horse- related injuries, results of bar brawls, frostbite and contagious diseases such as cholera. The lists include everything from lacerations to mumps. These doctors were also expected to treat civilians who worked at the forts that included officers’ wives and children, and laundresses.
Military doctors were not always looked upon with respect, behind their backs some were referred to as “Pills” and other uncomplimentary nicknames. However, some surgeons such as Assistant Surgeon Leonard Wood earned the Medal of Honor for carrying dispatches through hostile Indian Territory during the 1886 campaign against Apaches in Arizona. Wood was later credited with discovering the cause and treatment of yellow fever.
Eventually the reader arrives at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and much information is gleaned through forensic examination of the remains of the men who died with Custer. Extensive examination of bones and teeth reveal many physical ailments the men suffered throughout their lifetimes, and including whenever possible wounds received on the battlefield that led to their deaths.
At the end the authors declared the men of the Seventh were “neither the unsoiled, healthy heroes represented by Errol Flynn in They Died With their Boots on, nor the maniacal one-dimensional soldiers portrayed in Little Big Man”. One observer in the old days described the Seventh Cavalry as “good fighters but mostly heavy drinkers.’
And so be it. They rode with Custer. May they rest in peace. This unique book has everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the health of those brave fighting men. The book belongs in your Old West library.
Editor’s Note: The reviewer, Phyllis Morreale-de Ia Garza is the author of numerous books about the Old West, including the true crime Death For Dinner, The Benders of (Old) Kansas,, published by Silk Label Books, P. Box 700, Unionville, New York, 10988-0700 www.silklabelbooks.com
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
