West Coaster 2009 - TSSD (1 Viewer)

[Scott]

The NPS has a short survey of the Sioux firearms. I looks like the TSSD figures will cover what was at The Little Big Horn. Other hand weapons are included at the site.


Little Bighorn Battlefield
National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/archive/libi/plains.html


The Plains Indian Warrior

Guns

"According to recent archaeological findings, a variety of modern firearms were used by the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.

Guns were among the first items received by Plains Indians, usually in trade during the fur trapping period. Because of the difficulty of obtaining cartridges, the old smooth bore muzzle loaders were very popular with Indian warriors because all they needed was powder and lead. The first repeating rifles possessed by Plains Indians were 14-shot, .44-caliber Henrys. They traded items of seized Spencers, repeating Winchesters, and Sharps rifles in battle. They also seized the single-shot Springfield carbines from Custer's men in this battle. It is estimated the 30 to 40% of the warriors had firearms of some kind at the Little Bighorn, although in the final analysis, sheer numbers of warriors defeated the soldiers.

Few pistols were carried by Indians before the Civil War because the early percussion revolvers were not as effective as bows and arrows. However, with large numbers of military pistols flooding the trade market after the Civil War, the Indians rapidly adopted the six-shot pistol as a handy weapon for use on horseback."

 

[eborris]

The NPS has a short survey of the Sioux firearms. I looks like the TSSD figures will cover what was at The Little Big Horn. Other hand weapons are included at the site.


Little Bighorn Battlefield
National Monument

http://www.nps.gov/archive/libi/plains.html


The Plains Indian Warrior

Guns

"According to recent archaeological findings, a variety of modern firearms were used by the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.

Guns were among the first items received by Plains Indians, usually in trade during the fur trapping period. Because of the difficulty of obtaining cartridges, the old smooth bore muzzle loaders were very popular with Indian warriors because all they needed was powder and lead. The first repeating rifles possessed by Plains Indians were 14-shot, .44-caliber Henrys. They traded items of seized Spencers, repeating Winchesters, and Sharps rifles in battle. They also seized the single-shot Springfield carbines from Custer's men in this battle. It is estimated the 30 to 40% of the warriors had firearms of some kind at the Little Bighorn, although in the final analysis, sheer numbers of warriors defeated the soldiers.

Few pistols were carried by Indians before the Civil War because the early percussion revolvers were not as effective as bows and arrows. However, with large numbers of military pistols flooding the trade market after the Civil War, the Indians rapidly adopted the six-shot pistol as a handy weapon for use on horseback."

Interesting piece, only evidence of 81 Cavalry weapons being fired by over 200 men. of course there's no telling how many casings were washed away, taken for souvenirs or just plain not found. I guess that happens 125 years after the battle and you consider that bodies were buried like three different times. Not to mention the fire.

There were 2,361 cartridges, cases and bullets recovered from the entire battlefield, which reportedly came from 45 different firearms types (including the Army Springfields and Colts, of course) and represented at least 371 individual guns. The evidence indicated that the Indians used Sharps, Smith & Wessons, Evans, Henrys, Winchesters, Remingtons, Ballards, Maynards, Starrs, Spencers, Enfields and Forehand & Wadworths, as well as Colts and Springfields of other calibers. There was evidence of 69 individual Army Springfields on Custer’s Field (the square-mile section where Custer’s five companies died), but there was also evidence of 62 Indian .44-caliber Henry repeaters and 27 Sharps .50-caliber weapons. In all, on Custer’s Field there was evidence of at least 134 Indian firearms versus 81 for the soldiers. It appears that the Army was outgunned as well as outnumbered

 

[Scott]

A more recent survey plots the movements of the troopers from piles of cartridges. I was lucky back in 1988 to talk with a man who was in on one of the surveys. The location was strange as in was a trench at the Petersburg reenactment. The survey back then was done after a brush fire had cleared the battlefield.

 

[eborris]

A more recent survey plots the movements of the troopers from piles of cartridges. I was lucky back in 1988 to talk with a man who was in on one of the surveys. The location was strange as in was a trench at the Petersburg reenactment. The survey back then was done after a brush fire had cleared the battlefield.

Yeah, I've seen that survey, I just wonder how accurate something like that can be after 100+ years, that's a lot of winters a lot of springs and rainy seasons, plus the digging for burying and unburying and burying again and then there's the fire, granted by then most of the stuff should have been buried.

 

[Scott]

Like any archeology, it's evidence plus an educated guess based on the evidence. Considering that the battle was portrayed with Custer and the last men standing tall in popular images, they now know the end was less picturesque.

 

[eborris]

Like any archeology, it's evidence plus an educated guess based on the evidence. Considering that the battle was portrayed with Custer and the last men standing tall in popular images, they now know the end was less picturesque.

Perhaps, but will never get a full picture, even if we were to get eye witness accounts, they'd only be accurate to the extent they were involved, no one could see the whole battlefield with the terrain and fog of war. heck, if we knew exactly what happened it wouldn't be near as interesting as it is now. Conjecture is half the fun.

 

[Scott]

Like the Alamo.

 

[eborris]

Like the Alamo.

Exactly, isn't that what keeps people interested in Jack the Ripper, The Black Dahlia, The Jamestown Colony? If you have all the answers there's not all that much to talk about.

 

[Nick Nasta]

Thanks for posting those photos Carlos.
I enjoyed then. It looks like I will be painting some WWII figures from TSSD soon for a client. That company would be a first for me. I like their detail.
Take care.
Nick