Donovan relates all of this, and also the willingness of intense rivals to band together against outside investigation of the sorry state of the Army in the 1870s. In reporting about the hearings concerning charges of Major Reno's drunken cowardice at the Little Bighorn, Donovan reports -- often from obscure newspaper articles -- how the officers were quite open with trusted reporters concerning their strategy of protecting the Army and all of the involved officers — with the notable exception of the late Col. Custer -- from any potential loss of control to civilians of Army operations or loss of "honor" over their mis- and malfeasance as field commanders. It was all an attempt to buy time until someone — Gen. Miles, as it turned out — could become victorious enough to divert attention away from the Custer disaster.
A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn may not be the total and final chapter in the Custer saga, and he notes as much quite often. He freely notifies when he's taking a chance with history, but carefully notes his sources and reasons for doing so. Custer aficionados will appreciate Donovan's careful and detailed footnotes. But if you aren't interested in all that dusty stuff, the essential story is contained within the chapters. No one should have many questions about the basic tale of the biggest battle of the Plains wars.
I highly recommend Donovan's book to those whose interest extends to conquering the Old West, the Indian Wars, and to the history of this nation.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Sounds like an excellent way to revisit such a historic moment. I am especially interested in the Native American perspective of that day. Thanks for letting us know about this book.
2 - Richard Tilford
Dear Mr. Donovan
As i tried to explain to other historians
that my great grand father J.G. Tilford lead senior major and other officers of the
upper command did not approve of custers methods. Look up the history on my relative on google Richard Tilford