One Crowded Hour: The Little Bighorn

 David Larson's One Crowded Hour: The Little Bighorn weighs in at over 400 and 60 some pages, so it's not a light read. For those of you new to U.S. History who have never heard of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gall, Reno, Benteen, or Custer, I can't imagine how you've remained ignorant of one of the most exciting and controversial episodes of the Old West and The Indian Wars. Here are the facts, not all of which are without dispute: In June of 1876, the U.S. Army sent three columns into Montana Territory after Sioux and Cheyenne who had left the reservation. 

(Note, the autographed book giveaway is down to the last two days. Enter now to win). 

Custer led the Seventh Cavalry in one of these columns and his scouts found a large Indian village camped along the Little Bighorn River. The natives were not only restless, finding that no casino plans had been formalized, they were expecting blue-coated guests. Thousands of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho had gathered for the dance. Custer's scouts, including Crow and Arikara, warned him that the number of hostiles in the valley exceeded the recommended daily allowance by several thousand calories. While Custer may not have said, "Nothing in this world is more surprising that the attack without mercy," he nevertheless persisted in ordering an attack. While Benteen was tasked with accompanying the slow train of mules with packs, Custer ordered Reno to charge from the south, while he took a larger force to attack from the north, apparently planning to capture the women and children as hostages to persuade the warriors to surrender. 

Reno's diversionary attack was successful in that more Indians than he had ever seen before counterattacked him. His force dismounted and were driven into the trees. Realizing they had situated themselves perfectly for an opportunity to die in place, Reno led a retreat back across the river and up a coulee. The native attack eventually relented and Benteen joined Reno, but the pack mules with the ammunition and supplies were slow moving.

Custer had been making his way north and had previously sent Benteen a message that a big village had been located. He called for Benteen to come quickly and to bring the packs--two seemingly contradictory directives.

While Reno and Benteen dawdled, with Reno's exhausted men and horses trying to recover from the devastating counterattack, Custer and his force rolled on the search tables. Instead of defenseless hostages, the dice revealed all the warriors that had been attacking Reno, and probably even more, all dressed up and looking to fill their dance cards. The music started and the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho utterly exhausted their dance partners, surrounding and overwhelming Custer's 210 men with their own variant of the attack without mercy--Custer was surprised to death, but the arrows and bullets contributed.

Reno and Benteen didn't bug out during the night, with many wounded who would have been left behind, and spent another day under Indian attack with little cover. The arrival of the relief force finally persuaded any remaining hostiles to seek a new venue. The Seventh Cavalry had lost 270 men with many more wounded. The survivors posted reviews indicating, "No stars given. Not what we expected. Would not recommend."

David Larson, of course, relates the story much better and with a heavier word count. His book is a work of fiction heavily blended with, and I believe, consistent with at least some versions of the facts. I initially enjoyed the tale as it revolved around Custer and the major army players, their plans and interactions. Once the story turned to the two young men who wanted to join the cavalry, Will and Jake, I thought it became overwrought and forced. The descriptions and dialog were off putting. However, I merely skimmed most of that. I wanted a fast-paced tale steeped in historical fact rather than speculation or pure fiction.

My mixed feelings took a turn for the better once we got into the approach of the battle and the actual clash of arms. Larson successfully conveys the savagery and horror of the battle from the perspective of the outnumbered troopers. He charges in with Reno and the action never falters, following companies and individuals through the bloody conflict. The story becomes a gripping and compelling read.

Following the last stand and its aftermath, Larson recounts the subsequent lives of several of the survivors from the Little Bighorn until their deaths. If I remember correctly, the last survivor died in 1950.

The thrilling tale of the exciting fight on the banks of the Greasy Grass substantially outweighs the overwrought aspects of the account. I give it five sabers out of five. 

This may be your final chance to get in on the autographed giveaway. 

 

 

 

Battle of Raab and a giveaway

 

 In June of 1809, about 40 miles from Vienna, while Napoleon's main force and those of Austria's Archduke Charles maneuvered for battle on the Danube, Eugene de Beauharnais commanding French and Italian troops engaged Archduke John near Raab. John had deployed his troops--mostly militia and landwehr with cavalry and artillery--in a defensive position behind the Pancza stream. Beauharnais attacked and after a back and forth battle for the farm at the bridge near the center, concentrated fire from the French guns drove back the Austrian artillery and allowed the French cavalry to ford the river and threaten John's left flank. The French then retook the farm again and John was forced to withdraw.

We replayed this battle, and finally finished it yesterday. In the photo above, taken on the next to last turn, the French are on the left and the Austrians on the right. Our battle differed in the details from the historic conflict. First, I enhanced the quality of a couple of the Austrian brigades to make things more interesting. Second, I deployed the French without much thought, just as I took them from the travel box--this was an away game in a friend's basement pantry. That placed the Severoli's Italian division on the far left and the divisions of Durutte and Seras on the right with Pacthod's division in the center with Grouchy's cavalry in reserve.

An Italian brigade began the fight with and attack across the bridge at the top of the picture; they were repulsed by the defenders, and finally destroyed by artillery fire. The other Italian brigade maneuved farther to the Austian right where they threatened to cross the swamp and stream to attack from the flank. Shortly after that, the Austrian players pulled their troops back from the stream on the French right to strengthen the center and Austrian right. That left the Austrian left wide open. Seras' division and part of Durutte's division waded the Pancza. The Austrians responded with cavalry and artillery. The French withstood both, repulsing the cavalry, and finally taking the farm at the center from the flank. The Austrians reached their break point but successfully inflicted some losses on the French, eliminating both brigades of Seras' division with their grenadiers and an enhanced brigade before ending the game.

We had a good time, but my poor positioning at the start kept me from concentrating my artillery fire, and the French cavalry never did anything more than threaten the Austrian center. It was a delight to open the purple testament of war, push painted men about the field, and roll the bones to determine their fate.

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In honor of the French victory, or for Halloween, perhaps, I've got a giveaway going. Enter to win an autographed book - a choice of either any the Rac Press anthologies featuring one of my stories, or one of the books from the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series.  

I finished going over the edits on my adventure book for boys. I'll get it back to the editor this week after I insert a dedication. Look for it in November in ebook and paperback.

 

Lars Walker

 Interview with Lars Walker

Author of

The Year of the Warrior, King of Rogaland, Wolf Time, and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

For many years I’ve been working on a series of historical fantasies set in the late Viking Age. [I’ll list the books published to date, because there are multiple publishers, which makes everything confusing for the book buyer: 1-2: The Year of the Warrior (a double volume), 3: West Oversea, 4: Hailstone Mountain, 5: The Elder King, 6: King of Rogaland.] This series is based on a real historical character, Erling Skjalgsson of Sola, who was one of the most powerful chieftains in Norway around the year 1000 AD. Now I’m in the planning stages for Book 7: The Baldur Game, which (at least as I see it now) will bring it all to a climax. Erling, a defender of the old Norse democratic system of governance, will have his final showdown with his mortal enemy, King Olaf Haraldsson. After that, I’ll describe Olaf’s own last, fateful battle. It’ll be epic, if I can get it right. Bigger than anything I’ve written up to now.

 

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

I’ve wanted to write about a Viking since I was a kid. Always had a vague idea about the hero I wanted to immortalize. As an adult, I found a character in Snorri Sturlusson’s great book Heimskringla, the sagas of the Kings of Norway, who met my requirements pretty closely. That was Erling Skjalgsson of Sola, a Christian and a fierce enemy of the autocratic monarchical ideas coming in from the continent at that time. So in broad outlines I follow the saga story – though there are large undocumented stretches in Erling’s life where I let my imagination fill in the blanks.

 

 Do you write in more than one genre?

No. I’d love to write a mystery, but my brain just doesn’t work that way. What I do, though, is translate Norwegian to English. I translated Viking Legacy, a book of history, by Torgrim Titlestad. I also do TV and film scripts. I worked on “Atlantic Crossing,” a miniseries they ran on PBS Masterpiece last year, and “Narvik,” a movie coming soon on Netflix. This is production script translating, by the way, not subtitles.

 

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

A lifetime of historical research, I guess, and a passion for words. I’m also a Viking reenactor; I think that helps me get into the period. I even reenacted in Norway briefly last summer. I should probably add that I aspire to write a little above the usual standard for Christian literature. My first sales were to a mainstream publisher, and I try to write for a broad audience.

 

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I’m not sure I’m the best person to judge that. I hope my Christian faith comes through in an honest way. I believe strongly in traditional virtues, and try to showcase those.

 

 What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

 I can wiggle my ears.

 

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

I guess I’d point people to some older books. If you’re interested in the Viking Age, read Heimskringla – it’s the most readable book of history written in the Middle Ages. You can’t always take it as straight fact, but it’s a tremendous narrative, with a surprisingly modern sensibility. I also recommend some of the older adventure writers. Try John Buchan and H. Rider Haggard. They don’t always fit contemporary mores, but that provides an excellent opportunity to practice real multiculturalism – if the past isn’t a different culture, I don’t know what is.

 

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

My two first novels seem to draw the highest praise, and they’re a good introduction to my work. The Year of the Warrior begins the Erling series and establishes ongoing themes. Wolf Time is a near-future fantasy, influenced by C. S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength. It kicks off several loosely connected contemporary fantasies, all set in the same small town in Minnesota. I’ve lived long enough to see some of its predictions come true – to my grief.

 

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

Long, long ago, George H. Scithers, editor at the time of Amazing Stories Magazine, along with Darrell Schweitzer, published an article on how to write for fantasy and science fiction magazines in Writer’s Digest. I followed their instructions to the letter and sold them the first story I submitted. In time they became my agents. George is gone now, and I miss him.

 

 

 What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

“Would you consider a six-figure offer to option one of your books for the screen?”

 

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

“Oh Lord, grant that I may always be right, for Thou knowest I am hard to turn.” (Old Scottish prayer, supposedly.)

It’s the story of my life. Not recommended

 

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Thanks to Lars for participating.

To celebrate Lars' interview, I'm giving away a book in my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. Click here to enter the giveaway. 

 

 

 

Hey, look at at this. It's the September Celebration!

I'm giving away an autographed copy of my near future dystopian thriller The Shrinking Zone.

For your chance to win, click the give-away badge floating on the right.