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Comanche Biography
Horse
Comanche is remembered as the most famous U.S. Army survivor of Custer's Last Stand. General George Custer and all of his men were killed in the desperate battle with Native American tribes on 25 June 1876. When reinforcements arrived after the battle, they found Comanche wounded but alive. (The horse had belonged not to Custer but to one of his officers, Captain Miles Keogh.) Comanche was shipped back to the United States and became a regimental mascot and living legend, trotted out for parades and other public occasions. After his death he was stuffed (somewhat akin to another famous horse, Trigger) and put on display at the natural history museum at the University of Kansas.
Extra credit: Comanche was a gelding... Comanche's birthplace and early history are unknown. He was purchased by the U.S. Army in St. Louis on 3 April 1868 before being sent to Kansas, where he was acquired by Keogh. Comanche is thought to have been about six years old at the time of his purchase.
Comanche and Trigger both appear in our loop on Seven Horses of Highly Effective People.
Blog posts mentioning Comanche:
Four Good Links
Comanche
The University of Kansas gateway to the Comanche Restoration Project
Roadside Pet Cemetery: Comanche
The story of Comanche's post-Custer history, plus a recent photo
The Quest for Comanche
A Custer buff has an elaborate tribute with photos of Comanche on display
An Irishman's Diary
Nifty notes on Miles Keogh, Comanche's dashing owner
Vital Stats
Birth
c. 1862
Birthplace
Death
7 November 1891
(natural causes)
Best Known As
The famous horse who survived Custer's Last Stand