Short Story II: Lancers

[matteus the inbred]

cheers mate, all very useful comments. i'm definitely going to have to write a bigger version of this one! but principally, i agree, it's a big topic and needed more space, even for a single trooper's 'eye-view' account (and a single Indian).
the nice thing about this particular scrap is that from a certain point it all becomes conjectural as we have no (white) eyewitness accounts, just often contradictory Indian ones (not that this means they can't be truthful as well), so you can really play with it.

Although now that i think about it would a cavalry regiment get blisters on their feet? I never thought of them as doing alot of walking.

that's a good point...! maybe he'd lost his horse fairly early on and the boots were really rubbish...gah

some accounts suggest that Custer's men had been riding for 30 hours including a night march by then...i expect his backside would have been pretty sore too!

[Franconicus]

Although now that i think about it would a cavalry regiment get blisters on their feet? I never thought of them as doing alot of walking.
I think they can. If they march long and fast, they have to give the horses a break. Normally the soldiers dismount and march. Now, troopers are not used to walk and their boots were not made for walking!

[matteus the inbred]

Although now that i think about it would a cavalry regiment get blisters on their feet? I never thought of them as doing alot of walking.
I think they can. If they march long and fast, they have to give the horses a break. Normally the soldiers dismount and march. Now, troopers are not used to walk and their boots were not made for walking!

ha, thanks Franconicus!
actually, the other bona fide mistake I made was the idea of the sun setting at the end of the battle (penultimate paragraph)...most accounts agree that proceedings at Little Bighorn (although not the Reno/Benteen engagement) were done and dusted by 5pm at the latest...in June. so, not really sunset time!
I claim artistic licence.