Lt.Col. Brevet General George Armstrong Custer
"Fiddler's Green"
Halfway down the trail to Hell,
In a shady meadow green
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers' Green.
Marching past, straight through to Hell
The Infantry are seen.
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marines,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers' Green.
Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene.
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he's emptied his canteen.
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers' Green.
And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And go to Fiddlers' Green.
The origin and author of "Fiddler's Green" is unknown. It was believed to have originated in the 1800's and was composed as a song sung by the soldiers of the 6th and 7th Cavalry. Its first known appearance in published form was in a 1923 Cavalry Journal.
Wednesday June 25, 2008 will mark the 132nd year since the disastrous defeat of General George Armstrong Custer and the famed 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn.
In today’s blog I want to take a trip out to “Fiddlers Green” and pay tribute to the three troopers from Schuylkill County who were at the battle and lost their lives.
Pvt. George E. Adams Co. L 7th U.S.Cavalry
Birth: Jul., 1846
Minersville
Schuylkill County
Pennsylvania, USA
Death: Jun. 25, 1876
Little Big Horn Battle Site
Big Horn County
Montana, USA
Private, Company L, 7th US Cavalry. Killed in action at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, 1876, along with General George Custer and most of the 7th Cavalry.
Adams enlisted on 18 October 1869, at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory, at the age of 22, previous occupation as a teamster. He was discharged from the 22nd US Infantry on 19 Dec 1872, for disability. He re-enlisted on 27 Jan 1874 at age 27, at Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota, listing his previous occupation as a soldier. While serving as a teamster, he was reported AWOL January 3 to 13, 1875, and was court-martialed in March 1875, but was acquitted. He was found drunk on duty 28 April 1875, and court-martialed the next month, and sentenced to six months of hard labor. He was 5 feet 8 1/2 inches tall, had blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complection. He never married. His unit, under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Crittenden, was with Custer's Column during the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and he was killed there. After the battle, the bodies of the soldiers were buried where they were found. In June 1877, the bodies were reinterred into a mass grave on top of Last Stand Hill.
Burial:
Custer National Cemetery
Crow Agency
Big Horn County
Montana, USA
Plot: Buried in the Mass Grave
You can leave a flag, flower on find a grave.com for George if you want
Pvt. Harman Knauth, Pvt. Company F 7th U.S. Cavalry
Born in Dammendorf, Prussia
Lived with his brother at Brandonville, Schuylkill County.
Enlisted in the 7th on January 20, 1872.
Harman Knauch's Obit in the Pottsville Chronicle.
And:
Pvt. William Heath, Farrier Company L 7th U.S. Cavalry
The other member of Company L, Farrier William Heath was born in Staffordshire England, He
enlisted on October 9, 1875 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He had been a coachman in private life and was 27 years
old, had blue eyes, brown hair, and 5’ 7 and a quarter inches tall.
In 1875 while living in Girardville, during the time of the Molly Maguire troubles. Apparently William
had some troubles with the Mollies when he decided to leave the area and joined the 7th Cavalry. At the
time of his enlistment William was married to Margaret Swanborough where they had one small child.
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