On this day in 1840, Myles Keough, an unlikely American war hero was born in County Carlow, Ireland.
Once held as a prisoner of war in two different countries, Keogh, distinguished himself in nine battles of the Civil War including the Battle of Gettysburg.
While thousands of famine Irish fled to this country in the 1800s, Keogh’s prosperous family was virtually untouched. A member of the landed gentry, his first military experience was in Italy during the so-called “Pope’s War.” Handsome, dashing and adventurous, he joined other Catholic young men to defend the Holy See against revolutionaries in 1860. Following the battle of Ancona, he was held captive in Genoa and eventually knighted for bravery by Pius IX.
Perhaps disillusioned with Vatican policies, Keogh was an eager recruit when American bishops came calling, seeking Civil War volunteers for the Union Army.
Arriving in New York in April of 1862, he was quickly commissioned a captain. Cited for gallantry in nine engagements, he was captured once again with General George Stoneman in 1864 during the Battle of Atlanta.
Surviving a number of harrowing months in a Confederate prison camp, he was eventually released in a prisoner exchange. Breveted to Lt. Colonel at Gettysburg, he was given a post-war commission to the Army’s unluckiest unit, the newly minted 7th Cavalry under General George Custer.
As commander of Troop I, Keogh, none the less, returned to Ireland twice on extended leaves of absence. Contemporary records seemed to indicate that isolated duty on the frontier didn’t agree with the affable Keogh. Encountering bouts of depression, he was known to drink excessively for brief periods as he became increasingly frustrated with the Army’s Native American policies. “I . . . have concluded that without knowing exactly where to surprise their camp, or having a guide who can track them at a run, it is a waste of horseflesh and time to endeavor to come up with them,” he wrote to his family in Ireland.
Preferring instead to persuade the native people into complying with the government’s establishment of reservations, he advocated for better treatment for them with little success.
Keogh was wounded for the first time on one such fruitless engagement while riding the bay gelding he had purchased and named “Comanche.”
Returning after a lengthy sojourn in his homeland during the summer of 1874, however, he deeded his Clifden Castle to his sister, Margaret and became an American citizen After rejoining his unit and General Custer at North Dakota’s Fort Abraham Lincoln, he perhaps prophetically bought a $10,000 life insurance policy and wrote friends in Auburn, New York, regarding his wishes for his burial.
Following the fateful day, June 25, 1876. Captain Myles Keogh’s body lay surrounded by those of his troop, his two sergeants and Company I’s young trumpeter. One of the few victims left untouched by the victorious Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapahoe, he was hastily buried in a shallow grave on the battlefield. A year later, his remains were exhumed and re-interred at Auburn’s Fort Hill Cemetery, according to his wishes.
Early military historians speculated that Keogh’s body was left unharmed as a result of his Papal medals which frightened “superstitious” warriors. It was later revealed in a number of native oral histories, however, it was his courage and his efforts to win fair treatment for Native Americans that earned him the respect of his adversaries.
Keogh’s gravely injured horse, “Comanche,” found wondering among the fallen, was the sole survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Taken to Fort Lincoln, he recovered, was transferred to Fort Meade and later, to Fort Riley, Kansas. “Comanche” was buried with full honors upon his death in 1891, the first equine, and only one of two, honored with a military funeral.
Company I’s guidon was recovered three months later at the Battle of Slim Buttes in present day South Dakota.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, 65 miles northwest of Billings, Montana, includes a four and a half mile self guiding tour road that connects the Custer Battlefield and the Reno-Bateen Battlefield, a visitor center and museum. Adjacent is the Custer National Cemetery, the final resting place of soldiers first buried at frontier forts abandoned by the military, as well as the two world wars, Korea and Vietnam. Administered by the National Park Service, ranger programs are held all summer and bus tours of the battlefields operate from Memorial Day to Labor day. Open all year, hours vary with the season. For more information, go to http://www.nps.gov/libi, call 406-638-2621 or e-mail LIBI_administration@nps.gov. The non-profit organization, Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield also administers an informative website at www.friendslittlebighorn.com.