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Exploring with Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition
Two years before the Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. George Custer entered the mysterious Black Hills of Dakota Territory at the head of a massive exploring party. It would prove to be one of the most eventful and best-documented expeditions of the Old West, an adventure of discovery that readers can now experience for themselves. Owned by the Lakota Sioux, the Black Hills were the last unknown place to the white population of America. Gold discoveries during the reconnaissance brought a flood of illegal prospectors, which was a major cause of the hostilities unleashed against Custer and his men on the Greasy Grass.
The explorers of 1874 told their own story in journals, reports and newspaper dispatches, while William H. Illingworth brought back the first photographs taken in the Black Hills. Every available resource has been brought together to make the journey come alive for the reader. Visitors to the Hills can add to their experience by using the included trail guide to find many of the photo sites or see the very places described in the book.
The explorers of 1874 told their own story in journals, reports and newspaper dispatches, while William H. Illingworth brought back the first photographs taken in the Black Hills. Every available resource has been brought together to make the journey come alive for the reader. Visitors to the Hills can add to their experience by using the included trail guide to find many of the photo sites or see the very places described in the book.
- GenresHistory
285 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 21, 2015
Exploring with Custer is the type of history book that you want to read cover to cover before putting it down. The book documents in great precision the path traveled by General Custer’s 1874 expedition through the Black Hills of South Dakota. Page after page of detailed topographical maps accurately plot the original route of the expedition. Campsites and points of historical interest from the exploration are located on the maps that identify current roads and landmarks to keep the traveler properly oriented. This attention to detail allows the reader to experience the journey from their couch or follow Custer’s trail in the car. The painstaking work of the authors Ernest Grafe and Paul Horsted make it possible to travel to the past and stand exactly where the soldiers went about their duties.
Piquing the curiosity of the reader is where this book shines. The authors found the sites of the original photographs and successfully recreated the compositions taken by the expedition photographer. The results are phenomenal! Details captured in the 1874 photographs have proven that some things remain the same 140 years later! Dead trees from that long past era look identical in appearance today. Stumps on the ground can still be detected in the same position and unchanged over the decades. The authors were even able to locate the rock ledge where Custer notoriously posed with a large grizzly bear he killed.
This work contains a collection of amazing photographs and important details indispensable to Custer aficionados and those that are interested in the high drama of that epoch. Anyone looking to escape back to a time of historical importance will be extremely satisfied in this unique work. After reading this book, it will be hard to resist the call of the road with a copy of Exploring with Custer as your guide.
Piquing the curiosity of the reader is where this book shines. The authors found the sites of the original photographs and successfully recreated the compositions taken by the expedition photographer. The results are phenomenal! Details captured in the 1874 photographs have proven that some things remain the same 140 years later! Dead trees from that long past era look identical in appearance today. Stumps on the ground can still be detected in the same position and unchanged over the decades. The authors were even able to locate the rock ledge where Custer notoriously posed with a large grizzly bear he killed.
This work contains a collection of amazing photographs and important details indispensable to Custer aficionados and those that are interested in the high drama of that epoch. Anyone looking to escape back to a time of historical importance will be extremely satisfied in this unique work. After reading this book, it will be hard to resist the call of the road with a copy of Exploring with Custer as your guide.
January 24, 2015
This was a great book, full interesting facts about the picnic of 74, would like to read "Crossing the Plains with Custer" And there should be a bio of the 1873 Yellowstone Expedition, and another book on the journey to the Little Bighorn (the moment they left Ft. Lincoln to the Greasy Grass) and all campsites between the two...I'm not only interested in said battles, but the in-between, the times of everyday life and the journey itself.....
August 15, 2017
This is a really great book on the oft neglected 1874 black Hills. I was throughly captivated not only with the photos, but with the details of the expedition. Kudos to he authors for producing this book. I plan to follow some of the trail when I visit my grand daughter in Belle Fourche, SD. Thanks for publishing this great historical & photographic masterpiece!
January 25, 2025
This book is designed to be studied and absorbed because of its content and design. If you enjoy western history, this is a must read. It is well done and creates a solid image of the day by day travels of this large expedition. I highly recommend this book!
October 1, 2011
Fascinating, because I grew up in this area. Started it at my sister's house, and was not able to take it with me when I left the area.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews