Billy Heath: The Man Who Survived Custer's Last Stand
Editorial Reviews
Little Big Horn Association newsletter, October 2003
"If you are interested in sole survivor accounts, you should definitely buy this book...markedly different from preceding ones..."
Book Description
As the U.S. Army's Seventh Cavalry marched toward Baghdad in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Seventh's fabled history was called to mind. From Vietnam back through two world wars, news broadcasters were quick to remind us that the Seventh Cavalry was none other than Gen. George Armstrong Custer's old command at the famous Battle of Little Bighorn. One hundred and twenty-seven years ago Custer led the men of five companies to their deaths at the hands of the Sioux. News of the slaughter that took place soon reached the rest of the nation as it kicked off its centennial celebration on July 4, 1876, in Philadelphia.
Even in 1876 there was close scrutiny of the battle plans, and questions arose regarding the rout at Little Bighorn. Since that day, despite all its victories in subsequent wars, the Seventh is forever identified as the regiment that was wiped out by Indians on June 25, 1876.
Although opinions vary on the details of the battle, virtually every book in the Custer literature agrees on one point: not a single soldier was alive after the dust settled in Montana that fateful day. However, recent facts uncovered by author Vincent J. Genovese bring the universally accepted conclusion of no survivors into serious doubt. Genovese has presented compelling evidence that one soldier, Pvt. William (Billy) Heath, the farrier for Company L, did manage to escape the carnage at Custer's Last Stand.
With all the drama and intrigue of a Hollywood movie, the story of Heath's survival is the substance of Genovese's controversial book, BILLY HEATH: THE MAN WHO SURVIVED CUSTER'S LAST STAND. Less than a year before the battle, twenty-seven-year-old Billy Heath strolled into the army's recruiting office in Cincinnati and joined up. The immigrant coal miner from Pennsylvania was on the run from death threats back in his hometown of Girardville, leaving behind his family. In a few short months he found himself in the midst of one of the most famous battles in U.S. military history.
Army records confirm Heath was in battle and list him as being killed in action. His name is carved into the battlefield monument where the U.S. Army says his remains lay. Not so, says Genovese. Somehow William Heath escaped death and was later found by a wagon of settlers migrating west. Nursed back to health, he eventually returned home to Pennsylvania. Genovese introduces proof showing that Heath lived for fourteen years after the battle.
Lavishly illustrated, this thought-provoking volume contains a foreword by noted Custer and Little Bighorn scholar Brian Pohanka, and an afterword by professor of political science and American history William Gudelunas.
Billy Heath: The Man Who Survived Custer's Last Stand
Billy Heath: The Man Who Survived Custer's Last Stand,Vincent J. Genovese,Brian C. Pohanka,Prometheus Books,1591020662,1848-1891,Army,Biography,Biography / Autobiography,Cavalry,General,Heath, William,,Historical - U.S.,History,History: American,Little Bighorn, Battle of the,,Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876,Military,Military - Other,Military History - U.S. Civil War,Military Science,Soldiers,United States,American history: c 1500 to c 1800,American history: c 1800 to c 1900,Biography: historical,Civil war,Heath, William,Land forces & warfare,Military engineering,Other warfare & defence issues,USA,World history: c 1750 to c 1900
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