Frank Finkel

Frank Finkel (* approx. 1853 Washington County , Ohio; † 1930 Dayton ?) Was one of several US soldiers who claimed to be the only white survivor of the Indian Battle of the Little Big Horn .

biography

Frank Finkel (he received this name later as a soldier, his birth name is unknown) was born around 1853 in the area of ​​today's city of Marietta / State of Ohio and completed an unspecified school education there. At the end of October 1874 he was enlisted in the US Army, where he entered the crew list under the name Frank Hall. He was ordered to Cheyenne in the later state of Wyoming, where he took up his service in Squadron C of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment.

Frank Finkel states that his horse ran over with him during the final encirclement of the Custer troop because of an injury. Finkel himself was already slightly wounded at this point. A shot had destroyed the butt of his rifle, one of the splinters of wood struck the soldier between the eyes, and Finkel's eyesight was impaired by the blood escaping. During the escape, Finkel had no control over his horse and only clung to the animal. Overall, he suffered two gunshot wounds in the side and leg during this ride. Finkel also describes some of the adventurous aspects of his escape. He is said to have been discovered by two Indians while resting. At first he successfully pretended to be dead and shot one of his enemies when they turned to leave. The other Indian fled. Exhausted from injuries, hunger and illness, Finkel met a few outlaws the day after the battle, who took him in after initial distrust and nursed him back to health. Apparently they even tried to amputate his injured leg with a saw, but Finkel resisted. The recovery dragged on for several months until October 1876. Frank Finkel reported to Fort Benton / Montana and asked to be released from military service. Despite his visible combat injuries, his story was not believed and two witnesses were requested, which Finkel could not bring in, of course. Contact with his actual unit, about 800 miles away, would not have been possible until the following summer due to the weather conditions and the turmoil of the Indian Wars. Allegedly for this reason he was locked in prison, from which he was able to escape. From then on he remained silent about his story.

Frank Finkel later attained considerable wealth and reputation. His property was valued at what was then a fantastic sum of $ 40,000. In 1921 Finkel's story came to the public again with the participation of his second wife, but received little attention. Frank Finkel died in 1930. It was not until 1937/38 that his story aroused interest in various American newspapers.

credibility

In fact, many US soldiers survived the Battle of Little Big Horn , as the troops of officers Benteen and Reno were also under Custer's command, who were not in the center of the battle area and were therefore not completely wiped out. The question of the sole survivor thus relates to Custer's direct force, which was surrounded and destroyed.

The biggest criticism of Finkel's information is his name. Neither Frank Finkel nor Frank Hall can be found in the crew lists of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment from 1876. However, it was not uncommon then to choose a different name. For example, it can be assumed that Finkel later, after his escape from prison, bore the name Billmayer, by which his second wife is also known.

Finkel's information on the battle, on the other hand, proves a precise knowledge of the events surrounding Squadron C and is largely confirmed by reconstructions of the course, the location of the gravestones and Indian statements. Finkel's troops were actually the only cavalry unit that did not dismount from their horses. His escape route, which can be reconstructed from the location of Squadron C, at least seems possible. Apparently, Finkel unknowingly passed an approximately 275 meter wide gap in the Indian cauldron, which represented an ambush by the Dakota chiefs Gall and Crazy Horse. However, both combat units probably did not fire at Finkel, because this would have betrayed their location to the Custer troops, which were still strong at the time.

Finkel's story is very likely to correspond to reality. The fact that he did not capitalize on his experiences and even did not mention them at all for decades speaks for his honesty. Whether he was actually the only survivor, however, can no longer be determined with absolute certainty, as a considerable number of the soldiers are still considered missing.

literature

• Patty Frank: The Indian Battle of the Little Big Horn. Military publishing house of the GDR , 1957.