Custer's Dead Officers: Captain Myles Keogh

 

On June 25, 1876, at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, five companies of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry, under the direct command of George Armstrong Custer were wiped out.  Among the dead was:

Captain Myles Keogh an Irish immigrant and seasoned soldier, joined the Seventh Cavalry in 1866 after distinguished service in the Union Army during the Civil War.

During the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Keogh commanded a detachment on Battle Ridge. He and his men attempted to hold the southern end of the ridge but were overrun by Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. His body was found surrounded by several of his men, and his horse, Comanche, survived the battle—later becoming a symbol of the fallen regiment

The medals of Captain Miles Keogh tell an interesting story.  The senior captain among the five companies wiped out with Custer, Keogh's body was found at the center of a group of troopers that included his two sergeants, company trumpeter and guidon bearer.

 Keogh was stripped but not mutilated, perhaps because of the "medicine" the Indians saw in two Papal medals he wore on a chain around his neck.  Vatican records confirm these two medals were given to Keogh during The Papal War of 1860.

 Captain Benteen secured the medals which were sent to Keogh’s sister in Ireland.  They remained in the family until 1988 when they passed into the hands of a well-known collector.  The medals were recently auctioned off for $35,000.

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