On the Road in Kansas

I had just a few talks in August, but much of the month was spent in writing and researching the Custer book, including a four-day blitz through Kansas. I'll share a few photos with you here, but most I'm saving for the book.

This is the first territorial capitol of Kansas, located at Fort Riley, KS. This building is of note because it was here that the Seventh Cavalry was organized.

There is a home on the grounds of Fort Riley that is identified as the Custer House, mostly because papers were found in the home that he had signed. As it turns out, it is NOT the Custer House - THIS one is:

This home was damaged by fire and redesigned long before it was realized it was the true home in which Custer lived. This remains a private residence while the original "Custer House" is available for tours.

This is the sandstone marker in the Fort Wallace Cemetery, erected by members of the Seventh Cavalry for compatriots killed in the 1867 campaign. The marker started to erode over the years and the cemetery built a shed covering for it a few years ago.

Custer made a stop at Monument Station, sometimes known as Fort Monument, on his court-martial inducing trip back to Fort Riley for his wife. The station was about a mile from an unusual formation known as Monument Rocks - if Custer didn't walk among them, he certainly saw them.

This is the blockhouse at Fort Hays, which would have been around at the time of Custer. This site replaced the original Fort Hays which was too far from the railroad and subject to flooding, in fact almost taking the life of Mrs. Custer.

I'll have much, much more in the book, which I'm looking forward to finishing up in the next couple months!