General George Armstrong Custer will be forever known for his role in the white man's sad war against the Native American inhabitants of what is now the United States. But, he was also quite involved in the Civil War, where he fought on the side of the Union. He was known, to put it mildly, for his flamboyancy, and for his fearlessness (or foolhardiness).
His 7th Calvary had their own battle song - Garry Owen.
There's been a lot written about one of the most famous generals in United States history, and I might blog about Custer more at a later date.
And now, my personal mystery.
Many years ago, when we lived in Wichita, my spouse and I befriended a couple. The man, whose last name was Evans, once claimed to be a descendent of Custer. (Of course this could be bad memory on my part but it stuck because his wife had native American blood, and the irony wasn't lost on me.).Mrs. Evans worked at the base housing office, which is actually how we met. It was like an instant "click" with her and me.
This man was not a braggart by any means. He was a very talented magician. I still have two paintings he gave me, too and they have his name on them.
Several months after we met, Mr. Evans got a job in Hannibal, MO with the Boy Scouts, and he and his wife moved. At this point his wife was very pregnant with their first child.
We had no address and we have never had any contact since.
I once tried to do an Internet search for him. I came up empty. Well, there actually is someone with a little bit of fame with the last name of Evans but it isn't him. That person is too young.
Anyway, in my Civil War research I've found that Custer was married and never had children with his wife. However, there are rumors that he had a relationship with a Native American woman who originally was a captive of his. It is said that Custer had either one, or possibly, two, children with her.
It's not really Civil War related and sometimes there are big risks in finding people you haven't seen in over 30 years but I would really like to know what ever happened to the Evans couple. It would be a plus if they had ever found the link to General Custer.
It could be a piece of lost history.
It sounded like you had a real connection with this couple. I hope you do end up finding them one day!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt would be cool to find them for sure
Amazing paintings and a very inspiring man.
ReplyDeleteThat is indeed a real mystery....what is your feeling on this? Think there is anything to it??
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Did you read the Wikipedia entry? It discusses his unofficial marriage to Mo-nah-se-tah, daughter of the Cheyenne chief Little Rock.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting that someone blogs about the Civil War. I will have to check this out going forward to be sure. Your story is interesting too, as my wife is actually from Hannibal... Small world sometimes, eh?
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