7th Cavalry Regiment the Black Hills, starting a gold rush in 1874 that precipitated the Great Sioux War of 1876–77. In June, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Montana, along with 267 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry. Although the regiment is well known for the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it also participated in other battles of the American Indian Wars, including the Battle of Bear Paw in Montana (30 September 1877 – 5 October 1877) and the Battle of Crow Agency in Montana (5 November 1887). On 29 December 1890, the regiment instigated
Giovanni Martino assignment to the U.S. Seventh Cavalry Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. In 1876, he was attached to Company H but on the morning of June 25, Martin was temporarily assigned to serve as one of Custer’s bugler-orderlies. As Custer and nearly 210 troopers and scouts began their final approach to the massive Indian village located in the Little Big Horn River valley, Martin was dispatched with an urgent note for reinforcements and ammunition. Newspaper accounts of the period referred to him as “Custer massacre survivor” and “the last white man to see Custer alive”. Martin and the