Battle of Little Bighorn Traveling Cemetery trailer for upcoming show

Boise Open Studios Tour coming up in October!

 Here's the link. Come see my Battle of Little Bighorn project Oct. 7-8.  I'm artist #22 on the map.

https://boiseopenstudios.com/

RIP?

 

I'm getting back at it after whatever latest bronchial virus is out there! Now to avoid coughing while I'm painting tiny things like pupils....

This is a shot of my drawing board (that I'm getting back to, heh heh) where the soldiers, Indians and civilians show up to be painted, one at a time. It can be kind of overwhelming sometimes, being in the company of all these people whose lives were over so suddenly, and who all share the same time of death, generally. It feels sad and overwhelming at times, and I find myself having to leave the studio. I had an idea when I first started this project that it would help ease their unrest, but I'm not so sure. I think sometimes they simply enjoy that someone is thinking about them, but rest in peace? Uh, no.

I'm three quarters of the way through F Company right now. I'll keep you posted with more photos later.

Jenny

This is not Isaiah Dorman

 

Along the lines of my post about Mitch Bouyer, here is another mislabeled and just plain wrong "fact" floating around out there: This is NOT a photo of interpreter Isaiah Dorman. This handsome guy is probably a member of the 10th Cavalry - an all-black unit (among others) during the Indian Wars period. You can see the crossed sabers of a cavalry unit on the hat he holds, but it is not Dorman. No photo of Isaiah Dorman is known to exist, although there are a few grainy, blurry images of a man purported to be him.

Dorman, the only black man in the 7th Cavalry regiment, was fluent speaker of the Sioux language(s.) He was a fascinating guy. At the battle he was a horribly mutilated. You can read more about him here: https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/isaiah-dorman.htm

I haven't gotten to Dorman yet in my painting project, but I wanted to put this up for all to see. I asked FindAGrave to remove this photo from their site, which administrators did. 

Thanks for looking. 

Be a teacher.

 

I had an interesting experience today that left me remembering the words of my late friend, Fred Wagner III: "To hell with them."

Fred was an expert on the Battle of Little Bighorn. I mean an EXPERT. But although he'd spent decades studying and writing about the battle and was smarter than hell, he was humble - and kind. He encouraged me to push through any flack I might receive about my portrait paintings. There would be a lot, he said. "To hell with them," I can still hear him say, "I will bring the roof down on anyone who criticizes your work!" I wish he was still here. I needed him today! He died in December after a long illness.

I kept Fred's words in mind today when I engaged in a simple discussion online over the name of the river after which this battle was named. It was no big deal, in hindsight, but it hit me the wrong way. I was being taken to task for asking a simple question on a forum of experts. I remember reading questions posed on this forum that Fred answered patiently, always reminding everyone that when the "experts" become too high and mighty to answer questions and help others they have failed in the very reason the forum exists in the first place. Well it happened today. I was chided for asking a dumb question. In a way I knew that eventually this would happen because I ask a lot of questions on the forum. Few of them are answered to my satisfaction, which I suppose means my guess is as good as theirs, yet I always hope someone will offer a plausible answer or educated guess. It's a fascinating place to read all about the battle, and there are some great minds on there, but I get my Irish up when experts try to make themselves seem smarter by making others seem dumber. Fred, who was a commander in Vietnam, would request they not let the door hit them in the ass....

So my message to all of you today is that if you are an expert in your particular field, don't assume that others can know what you know by osmosis. If you answer a question that you think is dumb, be the better person and do a generous and patient job explaining things. I guarantee you it will make everyone - including you - feel better about it. And the person who learned something from you will thank you instead of blogging about you.

Do you know about Indian ledger drawings?

Let me say right off that this is NOT a ledger drawing, This is a quick similarity I sketched last night. I had been practicing with my fountain pen and thought that the page would be a good one for ledger-style art. Ledger art is the exclusive domain of certain American Indian tribes, and its really wonderful.

I'm greatly influenced by old pieces and the style of ledger art. Here's the Wiki definition, which is a good one: Ledger art is a term for narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth, predominantly practiced by Plains Indian, but also from the Plateau and Great Basin. Ledger art flourished primarily from the 1860s to the 1920s. A revival of ledger art began in the 1960s and 1970s. The term comes from the accounting ledger books that were a common source of paper for Plains Indians during the late 19th century.

 

Most of the surviving and most famous ledger art was produced by Indians who were imprisoned at places like Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida or otherwise captive on reservations. Much of it was produced for tourists but some was a way to depict life events and stories, as these tribes had no written language. I think it's fascinating and beautiful, particularly the old ones that were made before the commodification of ledger art.

 

Wikipedia does a good job of explaining the finer points of this unique art form. Indian ledger artists today make some pretty amazing pieces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledger_art

 

And that's my post for today. In the future I will be making more of these little gems using some really interesting stuff I discovered in my husband's recycling bin. It has to do with golden eagles. Stay tuned!

Jenny

A fate worse than death?

PVT William H. Baker

 

 

For a 27-year-old William H. Baker had amassed a fair amount of drama in life by the time he was killed in Battle of Little Bighorn.

 

He was born December 3, 1848 in Pope County, Illinois and worked there as a farmer, likely on his family’s 240 acres originally purchased by his grandfather, Benjamin Baker.

 

On his 20th birthday, William married Nancy Ellen Broadway, who bore his daughter, Minnie June Baker in October 1869. He and Nancy Ellen, however, were not living together in 1870, with William remaining on his family’s farm. Nevertheless, in January 1870 William quietly married a second time to Dianah Brown (this was illegal under Illinois law, and carried a penalty of up to two years in prison.) Once Dianah became obviously pregnant William skipped town and enlisted in the Army. On September 26, 1870, Baker reported for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, the heart of Indian territory, having been assigned to Battery E, 3rd U.S. Artillery. Meanwhile, in December 1870 Dianah bore William’s second daughter, Gertrude Baker. The following June, William’s first wife Nancy Ellen was granted a divorce from the absent William. She remarried less than two weeks later.

 

Although the Army discharged him September 1, 1875 after five years of service, William may have considered the hornet’s nest back home when he re-enlisted 30 days later. Soldiers who re-enlisted within 30 days of an honorable discharge were given a pay raise, so William had a monetary incentive as well. William was assigned to Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Totten, Dakota Territory. On the day of the Battle of the Little Bighorn Baker was on temporary duty with the scout detachment. Like nearly everyone else William’s body was never identified on the battlefield but his remains were likely buried where they were first encountered. In 1881 all known battlefield burials were moved to a mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

 

An Army pension in William’s name was claimed on Christmas Eve 1877 on behalf of his first daughter, eight-year-old Minnie June. William’s second wife, Dianah, remarried and by 1880 his second daughter, Gertrude Baker, had been adopted by her new stepfather.

 

Myles Keogh

Elisabeth Kimber, a Little Bighorn historian in England wrote extensively about Capt. Myles Keogh and even published a fascinating paper about him and his relationship with George Custer (tense at best.) I wish she was still around so I could show her my portrait of Keogh. He looks like he sees the future....

The Lure of the West

 Ah yes, the lure of America - of the West. The chance for adventure and freedom. That's what a lot of soldiers who joined the Regular Army after the Civil War were thinking. They were disappointed later when they were assigned to garrison the frontier. Cavalry soldiers deserted more frequently than infantry soldiers because they had horses and could get away faster and go farther. The desertion rate was tremendous and caused a lot of meetings back in DC. They weren't as worried about losing men as they were about losing horses and equipment. Posts tried improving food and paying more, and that helped a bit, but the bottom line was that post duty was mind-numbingly boring. Indians didn't try and attack large posts, such as Fort Lincoln, so there wasn't much in the way of military action unless the men were out on a campaign or a foray of some sort. Many of the soldiers were illiterate and received permission at larger posts (which had officers, their wives and children) to attend school if only to have something to occupy their minds. Scurvy set in because of the limited diet of beef and bread, essentially. This led to budgeting for seeds and creating the post garden, often 10-20 acres or more, which was tended by one or several soldiers specifically assigned to it. Before the invention of the post garden one garrison commander ordered those with scurvy to head out into the prairie and eat their fill of wild onions. It helped cure scurvy but some were killed by Indians while they were munching away. What a life! Private Shea from England was just one of many men who lived like this and was ultimately killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Learn more and ask questions at the Little Bighorn Alliance and American-Tribes sites. Thanks for looking! 

That's one expensive flag

Corporal John Foley was reported to have had a guidon under his body when his remains were identified on June 28, 1876, three days after the Battle of Little Bighorn. Several Indians who witnessed the battle or took part in it said Foley, the standard-bearer for C Compan, shot himself while galloping away. He is reported to have ripped the flag - or more properly called a guidon - from its staff and stuffed it in his shirt. The mystery is why wasn't it taken by Indians after Foley's death? Maybe it was overlooked. Maybe his body was not approached or examined. Well, obviously the guidon was overlooked because it exists today, although its in very poor condition. It was auctioned in 2010 by Sotheby's for $2.3 million. It's called the Culbertson Flag after the soldier who found it on Foley. It really should be called the Foley-Culbertson Flag, but that's just my opinion. Take a look at an NPR story about the sale here. Archivists at the battlefield say it's in such a state that it's little more than dust. It was purchased by an American collector. I would love to see it.

Here is my painting of Foley who was only about 26 years old when he died. His is quite a story.

Searching for the real Mitch Bouyer

 I've been researching the individuals for my Little Bighorn project and have discovered some interesting, disappointing and disturbing things. For one, this painting of Mitch Bouyer, modeled after the photo of him with Stellar's jays on the sides of his hat, is not Bouyer at all but a famous Ute flutist named Acapore. An involved and well-researched discussion about it can be viewed on https://american-tribes.com

This one stays in my studio. I'm searching for a photo of Bouyer, or a photo of one of his children who could conceivably resemble his/her father. Can anyone out there help?