Custer at the Alamo (53 page)

“Command ho,” I ordered, seated on a white stallion that I had named Traveler.

The scouts went first, followed by F Company and the wagons. The people of San Antonio turned out to see us go, lining the road and waving. Our band played
Gerry Owen
on drums and fife, the old Irish ballad stirring our hearts.

Riding on my right was Slow, still mounted on Vic, for the two of them got along well. Tom rode on my left.

“Taking the youngster with us?” Tom asked.

“Yes. Tom. I’m a great man now,” I replied, glancing toward my youthful companion. “And every great man should have a conscience.”

* * *

I would ride with Custer to another battle, and more battles after that. The white men of the east would never give up their ambition to conquer all the western lands. The Americans of the South were loath to surrender their slaves. The Mexicans still had dreams of an empire. The Comanche would not cease their raids, nor the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, or any of the wandering tribes. The wars of my previous world were small compared to those now witnessed in the creation of a new one. But in time, Wakan Tanka’s vision finally became clear to me. It was not my people who had been given a second chance. It was I who had been given a second chance. A chance to forge a better life for my people, and for peoples who had never before dwelled in my thoughts. For this task, the Great Spirit had granted me two powerful tools: Texas would be the anvil for creating this new world, and General George Armstrong Custer would be the hammer.

It would be nice if I could take complete credit for this book, but any work based on so much historical research must pay homage to those who have come before. And like many baby boomers who grew in the years following the Davy Crockett craze, I owe Walt Disney and Fess Parker a huge debt for instilling in me a love of history, if not theater.

The first Alamo book I remember reading was Lon Tinkle’s
13 Days to Glory
, still one of the best on the subject. I would also have to include Walter Lord’s
A Time to Stand
as required reading. Other books that are very popular would be
A Line in the
Sand
by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, and
The Blood of Heroes
by James Donovan (which I read after completing this novel). Stephen Harrigan’s novel,
The Gates of the Alamo
, is also worthwhile.

For books about George Custer, it’s hard to beat
Son of the Morning Star
by Evan Connell and
Custer’s Luck
by Edgar Stewart. We are also fortunate to have much of Custer’s story written in his own words, for he supplemented his meager army pay by writing articles for various publications, and even had a book published before his death called
My Life on the Plains
.
The Custer Reader
, edited by Paul Andrew Hutton, is filled with numerous contributions by historians and contemporary observers. I may also recommend
The Custer Story
, which provides great insight into Custer’s character and the times he lived in. It is a collection of personal letters exchanged between Custer and his wife, Elizabeth. Edited by her friend, Marguerite Merington, the letters follow the couple’s correspondence from their courtship in 1862 to his death in 1876.

There are two books I need to pay special tribute to, hopefully without too much controversy. Devotees of the Alamo story can be a prickly bunch, passionate in their opinions, and intolerant of anyone who slights their heroes. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nevertheless, there are some who may take issue with my adventure story, and in acknowledging two sources of my inspiration, I assume the risk of taking them down with me. Let’s try to be forgiving.

The first book I must mention is
Alamo Traces
by the late Thomas Ricks Lindley. Mr. Lindley was a relentless investigator who theorized that the Alamo was reinforced several times prior to its fall, and that dozens of the defender’s names have been lost to history. His conclusions are not generally accepted by the Alamo community, but I found his book thought-provoking. His research also proves that there is much about the Alamo that still needs to be studied.

The second book I must acknowledge is
Sleuthing the Alamo
by James E. Crisp. Professor Crisp was born in Texas, and in his marvelous prologue
,
he speaks of the prejudices common to white children growing up in Texas in the 1950s. It was while reading
Sleuthing the Alamo
that I realized my original concept for
Custer at the Alamo
required serious revision. Soldiers who had fought for the Union in the Civil War, having lost fathers, brothers and friends, would not fight to make Texas a slave state. Thank you, Professor Crisp, for sending me back to the drawing board.

There is a list of preferred reading at the end if this book, most of it from my personal library, but not everything in this novel can be found in history books. Fiction occasionally has to take some liberties, and I’ve taken a few (though not as many as my critics will claim). Erasmo Seguin is a real historical character, but I invented his daughter, Isabella Seguin. Most of our Native American friends in this book are also fictional, with the exception of Slow. Though Sitting Bull did have a sister, she was much younger than Morning Star.

I will also offer a final thank you to my friend and advisor, Professor Matthew Bernstein, whose persistence made the completion of this book possible.

References

The Custer Reader,
edited by Paul Andres Hutton, University of Oklahoma Press, 2004

The Custer Story
, edited by Marguerite Merington, Devin-Adair Company, 1950

Sleuthing the Alamo
by James E. Crisp, Oxford University Press, 2005

Alamo Traces
by Thomas Ricks Lindley, Republic of Texas Press, 2003

13 Days to
Glory
by Lon Tinkle, McGraw-Hill, 1958

With Santa Anna in Texas
by Jose Enrique De La Pena, Texas A & M University Press, 1975

The Alamo Remembered
by Timothy M. Matovina, University of Texas Press, 1995

A Time to Stand
by Walter Lord, Bonanza Books, 1987

Eye Witness to the Alamo
by Bill Groneman, Republic of Texas Press, 1996

David
Crockett, the Lion of the West
by Michael Wallis, Norton 2011

Custer, A Soldier’s Story
by D.A. Kinsley, Promontory Press 1992

Custer’s Luck
by Edgar I. Stewart, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1955

Custer
by Jeffrey D. Wert, Simon & Schuster, 1996

Custerology
by Michael A. Elliott, Univ. of Chicago Press, 2007

Custer Victorious
by Gregory J.W. Urwin, Associated Univ. Presses, 1983

Additional novels by Gregory Urbach

______

Tranquility’s Child
Tranquility’s End
Tranquility’s Heirs
Tranquility Besieged
Tranquility In Darkness
Tranquility Down
Tranquility Divided
Tranquility Under the Eagles
Tranquility’s Last Stand
Magistrate of the Dark Land
Slave of Akrona