CAGB ONLINE - IN THE NEWS
Last Stand Hill, taken from a ridge at the edge of the Custer National Cemetery, June 2017. (Courtesy of Joe Creaden)
- ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2026
- UK: £10.00 will entitle members to receive a paper copy of The Crow’s Nest and the quarterly e-newsletters.
- Overseas: (1) $15 USD will entitle members to receive an electronic copy (PDF) of The Crow’s Nest and the quarterly e-newsletters.
- Overseas: (2) $25 USD will entitle members to receive a paper copy of The Crow’s Nest, which will be posted at the International Standard Rate to ensure faster delivery, and the quarterly e–newsletters.
- Applications for membership, contributions to News from the CAGB – E-newsletter, and general inquiries about the CAGB should be sent to the Secretary, Lawrence Sherrington – stilicho10(zero)81@gmail.com – who will be delighted to hear from you.
CAGB Social Event in London - Friday, 13 November 2026
Venue - The Library Pot, 86 Kew Road, Richmond, TW9 2PQ
- It may not be Montana but it is still the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Come along to meet members of the Custer Association of Great Britain in real life. You will be able to look at newspapers from 1876, including the US illustrated newspaper Harper’s Weekly and its news of “The Montana Slaughter”. CAGB member Rob Cormican has a large collection of 19th Century newspapers and many books from 1876 in particular, including books on the US Centennial Exposition being held that summer. We don’t often get a chance to meet up in person so we would love to see you. RSVP to rob@librarypot.uk
Mark Kellogg's journal is tested for blood
Mark Kellogg's Journal
- By Emma Wing, published 21 October 2026
- It’s not every day that something donated to the [North Dakota] State Historical Society is suspected of being covered in blood.
- That was the case with the handwritten journal from a reporter who covered stories about General Custer and his journey to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
- Mark Kellogg was a writer with the Bismarck Tribune in the late 1800s, and he carried the journal with him as troops marched to Montana.
- The stains piqued the curiosity of the North Dakota State Archivists.
- “We ended up sending it into the state crime lab to see what was on the pages, because there are definitely markings on it,” stated Head of Reference Services, Sarah Walker. “And it came back that it was, most likely, coffee, whiskey, and red wine, which is not what I think we thought.”
- Kellogg was killed in the battle, and he is considered the first reporter to die in conflict by the Associated Press.
- Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
Repatriation Ceremony of Stolen U.S. Seventh Cavalry headstone at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, MT, 29 September 2026
John Doerner, retired chief historian, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, gives commemorative remarks at the ceremony. Soldiers of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry stand watch at the covered headstone.
Recovered and repatriated Seventh Cavalry headstone. Note only the top half of the vandalised and stolen 42-inch-long headstone was recovered. The bottom half remained embedded at the soldier’s burial site.
- An original headstone of an unknown soldier killed in action at the 25 June 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn, informally known as Custer’s Last Stand, was deemed stolen about forty years ago – maybe long before that. A joint federal law enforcement effort and supporting local veterans recovered and returned the headstone to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, MT.
- The headstone was repatriated in an honoured ceremony on 29 September 2026.
- Information and photographs courtesy of Edward E. “Ed” Saunders, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (retired), Billings, MT.
- NOTE: While this return marks a significant recovery, the FBI is still looking for another stolen marker from this site.
Our treasurer and 'The Crow's Nest' editor, Gary Leonard, pays homage to Captain Myles W. Keogh.
Stained glass memorial window to Myles Keogh and two other family members at Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, Ireland.
Gary at the Myles Keogh memorial plaque Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, Ireland,
CAGB members at the LBHA Conference, 2026. (Courtesy of Michael Olson).
The Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Richmond, VA.
- LOOKING AHEAD TO 2027
- A personal invitation from U.S. member, Matt Liddic, to the 2027 LBHA Conference in Richmond, Virginia, at the Four Points by Sheraton. Save the date, June 10th to the 13th. The room rate is $145. The focus for 2027 will be Tom Custer’s actions at the battles of Sailors Creek and Five Forks.
Barry C. Johnson (1932-2026)
The CAGB's wreath for Barry Johnson, 2 June 2026.
Kevin Galvin and Mike Bell pay their last respects at the funeral of Barry Johnson, 2 June 2026, Brandwood End Cemetery, Birmingham.
Barry Cornish Johnson, taken on his 91st birthday. (Courtesy Mike Bell)
- The CAGB was saddened to hear that one of our oldest members, Barry Johnson, had died on 6 May, aged 93.
- Barry was a meticulous student of not only Custer and the Frontier Army, but also a wider range of history, some quite esoteric. He had a great sense of humour, and a very sharp mind. It was always a pleasure to meet up with him.
- Barry published numerous articles and books. His work on the Indian Wars included the groundbreaking ‘Flipper’s Dismissal’, the first in-depth study of Lieutenant Henry Flipper, the first black graduate from West Point – and the first black officer to be dismissed from the service. Other notable works by Barry on the Frontier Army include ‘Benteen’s Ordeal’, an account of Benteen’s post-LBH difficulties at Fort Duchesne, Utah, and ‘A Captain of “Chivalric Courage”‘ (above), a brief biography of Thomas H. French. He also edited ‘The Secrets of Box 20’, a publication of Custer’s War Department File, 1861-1897.
- Barry was seemingly also drawn to the careers of British eccentrics. Other books included ‘Baronet in an Earth Lodge’, “The Life of Sir St. George Gore and his “Singular Adventures” in the Great West.” Added to these were books on the Zulu Wars, including a biography of Victoria Cross recipient Henry Hook, and the story of Henry Symons, a British Museum employee who shot himself at the museum, and other obscure topics, such as ‘Olive & Stepniak: The Bloomsbury Diary of Olive Garnett 1893-1895’.
- Barry was truly a one-off and will be long remembered by his friends in the CAGB and further afield.
- The funeral took place at 10.30 AM, Tuesday, 2 June 2026, at Brandwood End Cemetery, Birmingham, B14 6EQ.
- Gary Leonard
Two Seventh Cavalry Icons
Cabinet card Captain Frederick William Benteen, 1879. (Courtesy of Nathan Hulick)
First Lieutenant Count Charles Camilus De Rudio, wearing a 1872 officer's undress blouse, undated. (Courtesy of Nathan Hulick)
Second Lieutenant Winfield Scott Edgerly, 1875, by Dexter B. Vickery, Haverhill, MA. (Courtesy of Nathan Hulick)
Purported to be Grace Cory (nee Blum) Edgerly, 1875, by Dexter B. Vickery, Haverhill, MA. (Courtesy of Nathan Hulick)
Founding members, status at 31 December 2025 - Standing (L-R) Neil Gilbert (member), Phil Butler (not known), Arthur Prosser (not known), Tim O'Sullivan (dec'd), Bob Bradley (dec'd), Vince Hawkins (not known), Steve Bartle (not known). Seated (L-R) Peter Russell (Vice-chairman and Webmaster), Lawrence Sherrington (Chairman and Secretary), Francis Taunton (member), Ken Doran (member). Missing, Kevin Galvin (member) who took the photograph, 13 November 1999.