James Calhoun (soldier)
James Calhoun | |
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7th U.S. Cavalry | |
Battles/wars | |
Relations | George A. Custer, brother-in-law Thomas Custer, brother-in-law Boston Custer, brother-in-law |
James Calhoun (August 24, 1845 – June 25, 1876) was a soldier in the United States Army during the American Civil War and the Black Hills War. He was the brother-in-law of George Armstrong Custer and was killed along with Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His brother-in-law Myles Moylan survived the battle as part of the forces with Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen.
Early life
Calhoun was born in
Career
Upon returning to the United States, he enlisted in the Union Army in 1864. By the end of the war, he was a Sergeant.
In July 1867, he was commissioned a
Personal life
Calhoun was known as "The Adonis of the Seventh" due to his handsome features. He was part of the so-called "Custer Clan," which was a clique of close-knit relatives and friends of the former Civil War general. Calhoun was also the brother-in-law of fellow Clan member Myles Moylan. He often wrote letters to his brother and to Margaret, or Maggie as she was called, writing with disdain of his limited understanding of complex native culture, adherents to which naturally resisted military conquest. He often referred to them as "heathens" and desired that one day a post-agricultural population explosion would make hunting-gathering lifestyles unsustainable in the face of Western society.
Death
At the
References
- ^ a b Jefferson County Library History Rescue, "The Story of the Calhoun Family and General Armstrong Custer" "History Rescue: The Story of the Calhoun Family & Gen. Armstrong Custer". Archived from the original on July 14, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
- ^ Fort Leavenworth
Sources and links
- Jefferson Country Public Library History Rescue Project: "The Story of the Calhoun Family and General Armstrong Custer" ; James Calhoun, Frederick Calhoun and Miles Moylan [1]
- ISBN 0-06-097161-4
- Classic Battles: Little Big Horn 1876, Peter Panzieri, 1995, ISBN 1-85532-458-X
- Cavalier in Buckskin, Robert M. Utley, 1988, ISBN 0-8061-2150-5
- Custer: A Soldier's Story, D.A. Kinsley, 1967, ISBN 0-88394-074-4
- The Custer Autograph Album, John M. Carroll, 1994, ISBN 0-932702-97-X
- A Sherlock Holmes Collection, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,ISBN 978-9963-48-881-0