On June 25, 1876, Sergeant Daniel Kanipe of Company C, Seventh Cavalry Regiment, took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He was among the few survivors of the devastating fight and later provided crucial testimony about Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s actions during the official inquiry.
Kanipe continued his military service after the battle and eventually wrote a memoir based on his experiences. His account, known as *The Kanipe Story*, is considered an important historical document for understanding the battle. His courage and dedication made him a notable figure in American military history.
The campaign began on May 17, 1876, with a march toward the Yellowstone River. After covering twelve miles, the command camped near the Big Heart River and scouted the surrounding area. By June 10, they advanced toward the Powder River.
Six of the twelve units were assigned to a scouting mission. Leaving the wagons at the Powder River, the men rode mules with ten days’ rations and traveled two days upriver. Near the Rosebud River, they discovered an Indian trail. They made coffee at nightfall and continued along the trail through the night.
The next morning, after more coffee, they marched until noon. Realizing their ten-day rations were nearly exhausted, the column commander, General Reno, decided to turn back along the Rosebud. Eventually, they rejoined the other six companies of the regiment.
General Terry was present when General Custer was arrested. The arrest reportedly stemmed from Custer’s opposition to the revocation of trading privileges at various posts during President Grant’s administration. It was nearly impossible to obtain anything from the post office without buying from these vendors. A glass of liquor cost twenty-five cents and typically contained only a small amount of whiskey. Custer was arrested for setting maximum prices on these goods.
On July 22, Custer’s force received fifteen days’ worth of provisions from the steamer Far West on the river. Custer had two Gatling guns and two Rodman cannons, which he turned over to General Gibbon. Gibbon believed they could manage without them and had the guns taken across the river. This decision was later seen as a mistake, as even one Rodman cannon might have stopped the Native Americans from pressing their attack.
On June 22, the command broke camp and advanced all day. That evening, Custer ordered that signals be given by hand gestures, bugle calls were forbidden, and fires were limited to making coffee. The march resumed on the morning of June 23 and continued until evening.
On June 24, they reached a place where Native Americans had performed war dances and sun dances. The ground was hard and smooth from their activities, and they had built brush-like huts from cottonwood trees. Six Crow Indian scouts found the scalp of a white man. A soldier under Gibbon’s command reported the discovery.
The Native Americans, who held hostility toward the Sioux they were pursuing, were delighted to see the scalp hanging from a willow branch. They shouted, danced, and made a commotion. The scalp was handed to General Custer, who examined it and passed it among the soldiers. At the time of his death, it was in the saddle pocket of Sergeant Finley, the senior line sergeant of Kanipe’s company.
Around 10 p.m. that night, the Indian scouts returned. The men were ordered to pack their gear and prepare their horses. They marched in the dark toward the mouth of the Little Bighorn and Rosebud rivers. General Custer led the regiment into a gully that seemed ideal for concealment.
As they moved in at a trot and gallop, some hardtack fell from the pack train of Quartermaster Sergeant Hirst. Custer ordered the sergeant to retrieve the rations. When the sergeant reached the spot, he saw two Indians taking the bread. They fled when they saw the soldiers approaching.
The sergeant reported the incident to Custer, who then ordered the men to prepare their horses. Kanipe initially thought Custer planned to surprise the Indians the next morning, but since they had been detected, Custer decided on immediate action.
After moving some distance along the divide, the command halted. Custer took two scouts and Chief Trumpeter Henry Voss with him for two hours. When he returned, he divided the regiment into three groups. Companies A, M, and G were placed under Major Reno. Captain McDougall was assigned Company B with the pack train. Captain Benteen received Companies H, K, and D. Custer kept Companies C, E, I, and F under his own command.
Reno was positioned on Custer’s left, and Benteen on his left as well. It was clear that three different routes had been chosen for an attack on the Indian camp, with McDougall following the main trail with the supplies.
They advanced along what is now called Benteen Creek and reached a crossing where they found an abandoned Indian camp with fires still burning. A dead Indian lay in one tipi. Custer ordered the tipi set on fire. Reno was ordered to cross Benteen Creek, which he did quickly.
When they were within a quarter mile of the junction of Benteen Creek and the Little Bighorn River, Kanipe saw Indians on the bluffs above the river. He reported this to First Sergeant Bobo. Custer looked up and ordered Companies C, I, and F to climb to the top of the bluff where the Indians had been seen.
Tom Custer, the general’s brother, was in charge of Company C. Although they pushed their horses hard, the Indians had disappeared by the time they reached the summit. Tipis were visible for miles in every direction.
The Crow Indian scouts attempted to slip down and capture some ponies. A few tried, but shots were fired at them. Those who remained on the bluff included Bloody Knife, a Ree or Arikara, Curley, a Crow, and the chief scout Mitch Bouyer.
The four companies charged toward the edge of the bluff to prepare for an attack on the camp. Sergeant Finkle was riding close to Kanipe, and both were near Captain Tom Custer. Finkle shouted that he could not hold on much longer, as his horse was struggling. Kanipe called back, asking Finkle to come with him if he could. Finkle fell back.
Then Captain Tom Custer ordered Kanipe to return to McDougall and the pack train with a message. The order was direct: “Tell McDougall to bring the pack train straight across to the high ground. If the packs become loose, do not stop to fix them. Cut them off. Hurry. There is a big Indian camp nearby.”
Kanipe turned back. He later reflected that he first thought it was bad luck, but in the end, it saved his life. If Finkle had not fallen back earlier, he would have received the orders, and Kanipe would not have lived to tell the story.
Kanipe saw dust rising from the pack train in the distance, like small clouds. He rode toward it while the others advanced on the Indian camp. Custer’s last words echoed in his mind. The men were cheering and riding at full speed up the bluff. Some lost control of their horses and passed Custer himself.
“Hold your horses, boys,” Custer shouted. “There are enough of them down there for all of us.”
After delivering the message to McDougall, Kanipe went to Captain Benteen, as he had also been instructed to relay orders to him. Reno was retreating from the foot of the bluff while McDougall and his men climbed toward the top for support. Indians were shouting and firing behind them, and soldiers were falling. Before help could arrive, the Indians rushed in and scalped the wounded.
Dr. De Wolf was killed as he reached the top of the slope. If he had advanced a few more steps, he might have survived.
While riding behind Benteen, Kanipe saw several Native Americans moving quickly. Fearing an attack, he prepared to fire. But they turned out to be scouts fleeing from the main fight. They had run in fear all the way to the Powder River.
After delivering his orders to Benteen, Kanipe returned to the ridge with the battalion, where Reno and McDougall had regrouped. He could not rejoin his own company because the Indians were positioned between them and Custer’s command.
Reno advanced up the slope to face the Indians, who then attacked, forcing the soldiers to retreat and form a skirmish line. Before they could establish it, they suffered several losses. The Indians kept up fire all day and resumed the attack on the morning of June 26.
Kanipe could not confirm exact numbers, but he believed they inflicted significant damage on the enemy. There were 68 wounded soldiers in their camp, and they were cut off from drinking water. Hearing wounded men cry out in thirst was painful, but they could not help. Some men who tried to fetch water were shot and could not return with it.
The first shot of the two-day engagement struck the ground near Kanipe and passed directly under his horse. Fourteen soldiers, including Lieutenants Harrington and Sturgis, were never found. Reports said the Indians had displayed their heads during nighttime celebrations. The Indians killed 56 soldiers on the bluff.
On the evening of June 26, the soldiers saw the Indian camp preparing to move. Women packed their belongings while warriors kept up fire. By the morning of June 27, no Indians were visible. The men made coffee, gathered water, and did what they could for the wounded.
General Gibbon and his troops arrived with General Terry around 10 a.m. Terry became emotional and wept when he greeted them. It became clear that General Custer and his four companies had been completely wiped out. Terry later reported seeing about 200 soldiers in the valley below, suggesting they may have fallen into the same kind of trap.
That afternoon, Kanipe received permission to visit the battlefield with Captain Benteen. He walked through the area and recognized several of the dead, including sergeants he knew. Sergeant Finkle and Sergeant Finley were among the fallen. Finley lay near the head of his horse, Carlo, with twelve arrows in his body.
The bodies had lain in the sun for two days and were bloodied and disfigured. Women and young Native Americans had struck the faces of wounded men with tomahawks or shot arrows at them, making it clear which men had still been alive. They only struck the living, never the dead.
The bodies had been stripped of all clothing. The Native Americans had taken everything, including an estimated $25,000 in cash, as the soldiers had just been paid at the Powder River camp before the expedition.
Kanipe saw where the last men had fallen, gathered in a small cluster. General Custer lay on his back, his lower body on the ground, surrounded by the dead. His heart had been pierced. Near him were Captain Tom Custer and Lieutenant Calhoun, who led H Troop.
About 4,000 Native Americans, not counting women, took part in the battle. The total number of Native Americans was estimated between 12,000 and 15,000. Custer and his men faced a much larger force.
After Custer’s defeat, there were no living witnesses on the battlefield to describe what had happened. The only living survivor of the massacre was Captain Keogh’s horse, Comanche, which was found with seven bullet wounds. Many Native Americans were also found among the dead. About 75 were found in three standing tipis, and how many more died after the camp moved on could not be confirmed.
Kanipe saw one Native American wearing buffalo hide and blankets. He was surprised to find the man had four women’s scalps, two with long red hair hanging from a cord as thick as his hand. He dropped the scalps immediately, not wanting to be associated with such disturbing souvenirs.
After the battle, the soldiers buried their dead and began the difficult task of moving the wounded to the steamboat to the west. The steamer had been forced to return down the Yellowstone River after reaching its highest navigable point. Most of the wounded soldiers were placed on the boat and recovered remarkably well.
Among them was the old horse Comanche, the only living witness to Custer’s ill-fated battle. General headquarters ordered that the horse spend the rest of its life in a box stall. A soldier from the Seventh Cavalry band cared for Comanche, and the horse was displayed in front of the regiment’s dress parades draped in black mourning cloth.
After the battle, the Indians packed up their camp and continued on their way.