Thompson

Peter Thompson born December 28, 1854. Fifeshire, Scotland

Emigrated to the United States 1865, settled with his parents in Pittsburg, Pennsylyania.

Enlisted September 1875 in the United States Army for 5 years.

Assigned to Jefferson Barracks, St . Louis, MS

Transferred to Dakota Territory, October 1875, Stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln

Assigned to Co. C, 7th Cavalry, under Capt. Tom Custer, 1st Lieut. Calhoun and 2nd Lieut. Harrington

General George A. Custer took command of the 7th Cavalry, March, 1876

Participated in the expedition to the Little Big Horn River against a large body of Indians.

Wounded in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, on Reno Hill, June 26, 1876,

while heroicly retrieving water for the wounded during battle.

Awarded the Medal of Honor October 5, 1878

Citation;

"After having voluntarily brought water to the wounded,

in which effort he was shot through the head,

he made two successful trips for the same purpose,

notwithstanding remonstrances of his sergeant."

Honorable Discharge 1880

Homesteaded Alzada, Montana 1890

Married September 21 1904 to Ruth Boicourt

Two children, Susan and Peter Jr.

Died December 3, 1928

Growing up in Montana has always given me a closeness to history. In 1978 I went to work for the railroad that snakes along the Yellowstone River. Passing by Yates siding, inspecting the bridge over Glendive Creek, driving through the town of Marsh, working in the town of Terry, passing the mouth of the Powder River, getting a hotel in Miles City, over the bridge on the Tounge, then heading west past
Fort Keogh, eating in Rosebud, meeting co-workers in Forsyth, and dropping out of the hills crossing

the Big Horn River and going into Custer; this has been my joy of working for the railroad.

I was educated with a Doctorate of Teletype Therapeutics, which is the electrical, mechanical, transference of human intelligence. For those of you who have never heard of this, I was a teletype repairman. Passing time put my career in to the museums and now we have the internet. But it set me up to deal with many things at a time, and eventually to this day I still move information, voice, data, and video. The mechanical processes of the teletype had to be correct or it wouldn't work properly, that is the mechanical truth. The machine did not know whether the words on the paper were true or not, it just passed on the information.

Eastern Montana is known for its large thunderstorms that roll over the plains somtimes producing large
lighting flashes and torrential downpours. That is the way is was that night, June 6, 2007. The train dispatchers were putting out severe weather alerts to all the trains in the area. As the night stormed on, the trains began to get indications that the tracks were in peril and the dispatcher sent out his track inspector. It didn't take long and the report came in that the water on Cottonwood Creek was rising and appeared that a flood was eminent. The dispatcher decided to bring all trains in the area to a stop. A short time later, the creek swelled and scoured the creek bottom, washing with it everthing in its path. As the flood made its way down the creek the debris would dam up until enough pressure would build and break the dam creating a flow of unnatural strength. As this made its way towards the Yellowstone River the last major obstical in its way was the railway bridge, which did not stand a chance against such an onslot. By early morning the storm was gone and so was the bridge.

The railroad went to work repairing and rebuilding the tracks and the bridge. In just a few days the line was opened back up and the trains began moving again. A true testament to the hard work and dedication of the rail workers in this part of the country. These tracks have stayed open for many a year. This section of track was called the Yellowstone Division and was built by the Northern Pacific Railroad.

In 1876, a nation was on the move and the need for several transcontinental railroads had been ordered up by Congress. Along with land, money, and eminant domain, Congress authorized the US Army to provide what ever protection that was required for the railroad surveyors and construction workers to build a new railroad from St.Paul, MN to Seattle, WA. The last segment to be built, layed between Ft. Abraham Lincoln, modern day Bismark, ND. and FT. Ellis, modern day Bozeman, MT. and the only thing between was the Yellowstone Valley, which was the northern boundary of the 1868 Ft. Laramie treaty.

June 14, 2007, a beautiful spring day, the sky had a blue to it that one can only see in Montana. It's no wonder people call it the Big Sky Country. At my shop we had heard about the flood that took place and had seen the pictures down at the yard office. My co-worker James and I headed west to inspect our tower sites. These sites are in remote locations, most on some hill top in the middle of nowhere. The site we were heading to is west of the Cottonwood Creek that had flooded eight days earlier. As we drove around the bend the creek valley came into view and since we were atop the draw, our view of the valley was clear. We slowed down and surveyed the damage done by the flood. I was amazed on just how much the creek bottom had been cleaned out. There were new ponds and large sandbars now visible. This creek normally only has water running during spring runoff and during the thunderstorm season. As we drove down the valley it became apparent the extent of the damming and the flooding that took place, for there was a debris water line high up the banks of the valley. At one point the water must have been thirty feet deep. It is no wonder the railroad bridge was washed out, once this dam let loose.

We stopped and James got out taking some pictures of the devastation. I stood there wondering what this valley must have looked like when the flood took place. Suddenly something caught my eye. Way up the bank at the top of the water line I noticed some papers. The papers seemed out of place, so I crawled up through the debris to the point where the papers laid. I observed that they appeared to be some kind of documents, multiple pages stapled together. The papers were a copy of a hand typed manuscript, with corrections scribbles on the side borders. Yes, there were two copies of the same document, both had suffered water damage but were intact. The papers had dried out in the spring sun. The one was pretty crumpled up and the other was in good enough shape that I could turn the pages. I crawled down the bank and sat down and began to read the document. As I read this story to myself, James took a picture of me sitting and reading. James is my witness to my story and his camera caught this moment in time.

On the coversheet was the title,

Custer's Last Fight

The Experience of a Private Soldier

in the Custer Massacre

Peter Thompson

Before me unfolded the most fascinating story I have ever read or watched. I could not put the story down. The more I read, the more I needed to keep going. As the Battle of the Little Big Horn took place before me, I was transformed. I listened to the words of Peter Thompson and I understood him, and I understood the Battle, for I was there.

As a child I visited the Battlefield and took in one of the re-enactments with my parents. Later in life, my wife and I took our three children, niece and nephew to Hardin to watch the re-enactment. I had visited the Battlefield one other time by myself as I passed by on the interstate highway. But I did not understand the Battle or the struggles the participants endured. Peter Thompson showed me. My life will never be the same.