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/

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. 

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?

The Dead of Little Bighorn

"I start the painting, and they show up...."

This is how I describe my approach to a really large task: painting portraits of every person killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place on a hot and dusty slope in southeastern Montana June 25-26, 1876. It's almost overwhelming, but not quite.

I feel the need to humanize a battle that is so often described in terms of maneuvers. But mostly I want to honor the dead - more than 300 of them. It will give life to the dead, an idea that sparked in me many years ago when I first visited the battlefield. I felt uneasy when I was there. I felt the ghosts, like something wasn't finished. So I am giving them faces and stories. And then maybe they can rest.

No one knows what most of these guys looked like (very few photos exist,) but I do have enlistment descriptions and stories that guide my paintbrush. Biographies, letters, telegrams and eye-witness accounts will accompany these faces. You will be able to handle everything but the painting. 

There will even be a painting of all the horses lost at this horrific battle.

The 150th anniversary of the battle is in 2026 and I am bringing its aftermath to you in a kind of portable cemetery. I hope you stay awhile and get to know everyone.

Follow me on Instagram for show updates https://www.instagram.com/jennyniemeyerart/