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Survivor Frank Finkel’s Lasting Stand| Wild West | 14 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post In the years between 1876 and the later 1920s, 70 grizzled galoots and geezers told amused journalists and historians that they were the lone survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Their stories fell into one of three predictable patterns: disguised themselves as Indians by wrapping up in blankets; hid inside a scooped-out horse or a scooped-out buffalo; rescued by the chief’s daughter, who found them irresistible. Subscribe Today
One man’s story was completely different — because he was telling the truth. But before this article, the last few points of confirmation that clinch Frank Finkel as a survivor of Custer’s Last Stand were hidden in the National Archives, the U.S. Census Bureau and the records of the Columbia County Auditor’s Office in Dayton, Wash. After the discovery of the final pieces of the puzzle, with information from published books, it is clear that Frank Finkel was what he claimed to be — the only known white survivor of the five companies that followed Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer to the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory on June 25, 1876. Frank Finkel was born in January 1854 in Washington County, Ohio, the third son of Peter and Magdalena Finckle, German immigrants who owned a farm valued at $500 in the 1860 U.S. census, about the average for that time and place. The census taker spelled the name ?Finkle? in 1860, continuing the drift from the Germanic ?Finckel? to the Americanized ?Finkel? that occurred through Frank’s long life. Peter and Magdalena Finkle had six sons and a daughter, and while they spoke German at home, they sent their children to public schools, so that Frank Finkle grew up bilingual and fully literate in English. Peter Finkle died in 1868, and some of the older sons, including Frank, left a farm that was too small for six men and went to look for work. Down on his luck in Chicago in January 1872, Frank Finkle did what a lot of young men did if they were ?too proud to beg and too dumb to steal? — he enlisted. Joining the U.S. Army in 1872 was an admission of economic incompetence if you were a native-born American as Frank Finkle was, and a lot of young men signed up under assumed names, but Frank Finkle went the government one better — he assumed a name that could help him win prestige and promotions. He Germanized his name still further by calling himself ?August Finckle? and put down his birthplace as ?Berlin, Prussia,? and his occupation as ?clerk.? The year before ?Finckle? enlisted, Prussia had scored a double-edged victory over Louis-Napoleon and over the new Republic of France. Prussian soldiers were in greater demand than they had been in the days of Baron von Steuben, and Frank cashed in. Keeping his own birth date on January 23, he updated his age from 18 to 27 and was shortly telling gullible troopers of the 5th and later the 7th Cavalry, like his German-born buddy Charles Windolph, that he had been an officer in the Prussian army. Frank’s imposing height (a shade over 6 feet), dark hair, gray eyes and language skills helped him make sergeant in two years. By 1876 Finkle was the second sergeant of C Company, 7th Cavalry, commanded by Captain Tom Custer, a high-morale unit whose soldiers, like the officers, were Custer partisans in the heavily polarized 7th Cavalry. When the soldiers were issued huge, floppy Andrews hats that made them look like buccaneers, C Company was one of five companies where the men chipped in their own money to buy snappier hats from a Chicago retailer. The incident touched off fireworks when George Custer received a slap on the wrist from the designated post trader, who warned him against shopping off-post. Post traderships were a scandalous monopoly; investors who never saw an Army post hired the actual traders to deal with soldiers and random Indians and expected a 50 percent kickback. The soldiers at the frontier posts paid outrageously inflated prices for everything from whiskey to canned peaches, while supplies meant for the Indians simply disappeared. The one thing that the Indians could depend on was a steady flow of 1866 16-shot Henry repeating rifles, now rendered surplus because of the later-model Winchester 1873 but still worth $75 on the day when the Indians received their cash annuities. Government policy kept the In?dians hungry and better armed than the troopers sent to keep an eye on them, whose rifles were single-shot Springfields. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
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14 Comments to “Survivor Frank Finkel’s Lasting Stand”
Frank Finkel is my great great grandfather. I was raised in
Portland, Oregon and knew this story…teachers from my mom’s
generation and mine told us were were liars in class whenwe’d be
studying Custard’s Last Stand…that no one survived…we’d say
that wasn’t true. It feels great to know the REAL story has been
confirmed.
My Great Grandfather was Emler Finkel, my grandma was Lucy
Finkel and my mom is Donna Jean Roll-Hartel. My children read
about this story last fall and were so excited to share with their
history teachers.
Thank you to the writing who took the time to research this
incredible event our family has always known.
Traci Parsons
Oregon
By Traci on Nov 7, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Frank Finkel was my great uncle , we had always heard of the story also but never confirmed it untill a book was published in 1983 by Douglas W. Ellison ” Sole Survivor an Examining of the Frank Finkel Narritive ” . Mr. Ellison contacted my father the grandson of Joseph , brother of Frank , for information about the story . Tracy if possible I would like to contact you , Ray Finkel , Natrona Hgts , Pa
By Ray Finkel on Nov 20, 2008 at 1:43 pm
My name is John Koster and I wrote the article in the June 2007 edition of “Wild West” assisted by my wife and our researchers. The book “Custer Survivor” will be published next spring with, as I understand it, a roster of evidence including the authenicated signatures from 1872 and 1921 evaluated by a psychiatrist, a criminologist, and a genealogist. I was happy to see that Finkel descendants may now assert with Frank actually survived the Little Bighorn and was substantially telling the truth with confidence. Based on the records from the Oshkosh Public Museum nd Columbia County Courthouse he was an honest man who told a factual story which became twisted — and eventually preposterous — through no fault of his own. As his best friend Charles Windolph said: “He was a gallant soldier!”
By John Koster on Nov 28, 2008 at 10:37 am
I have the discharge papers of John Martin who was in company H of the 7th cavery. He was dischaged from the army on May 31st 1879. After the battle of Little Big Horn, he was fighting on 13th of September 1877 against Chief Josiph. I also have the bugle for the 7th cavery and I understand John Martin was the bugler for H company. I have the documents from the United States Government dated on June 1879
By Richard Thompson on Jan 20, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Frank Finkel was my grandfather Dyer Burgess Pettijohn’s brother in law. (My granfather married Mary Catherine Rainwater.) I was born in 1942 and remember as a child hearing about the survivor from Custer’s Last Stand being a relative from my father who was born in 1891. The first published record was in “True Magazine” in the 1950’s.
By Victor Pettijohn on Feb 2, 2009 at 2:55 am
frank`s my great great great great uncle i was told this story since i was little and up till now i have not found out it was true i am proud to be a descendant of a great man and a brave war hero.
By stephen harper on Mar 25, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I used to have the book, “I Survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn”. When I taught on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, several students used it for book reports, and I didn’t get it back.
Disappointing!
I would like to find the book just to have it. It wasn’t a thick book, perhaps 150 pages. The author’s story was corroborated by later statements of several indians who said that they saw a man riding fast to the Northeast, slumped over in the saddle, like he had been wounded. To make a long story short, He kept his secret because He didn’t want to be charged with desertion. In the 1920’s he went to the doctor complaining of stomach pain. The doctor checked him out and removed a bullet of the kind and size used at the “Battle”.
I found it to be a facinating story, and immediately believed it to be true because of the way the man told it. Like he was really there, from personal knowledge of the events of the day.
The man lived out his life, dying in the early thirties.
If you can help me find a copy I could purchase, please let me know.
Thank you,
Loren Soule
By Loren Soule on Mar 26, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I grew up in Craigmont, Idaho and our family farm was located close to Ben Finkle’s farm. My parents told me of this story when I was a young boy and one time while we were visiting the Finkel’s I asked Ben about it. He told me the story basically as it was told in this writing. I have always been convinced that this was true as Mr. Finkle was a man of his word.
Mike Watson
Lewiston, Idaho
By Mike Watson on Mar 29, 2009 at 11:54 pm
This is John Koster, author of the article about Frank Finkel in “Wild West” and the forthcoming book “Custer Survivor.” Will any Finkle descendants or family friends who don’t object to being quoted in a magazine story please get in touch with me. My email address is JPK07452@aol.com and my telephone number is 201-445-1343. Sergeant Finkel was a gallant soldier and an honest man and people who scoffed as his (true) claims to be a Custer survivor should know this.
By John Koster on Jun 10, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I am a history buff on Custer and the Liittle bighorn. While in the 1st Cav US Army I studed everything I coul find (Retired in 1995. Some researchers agree on the fact that Finckle/Fincle was a trooper in the 7th CAv. Some say enlistmsannt records show there may have been two Fincle troopers at that time? Road construction workers in the 40’s, found a long dead Cav horse bones, saddle, spencer rifle, brass hardware, half under dirt remains near a river some miles away suggesting that a trroper might have survived. Some say that Fincle was not over 5,11 . His story as told in the 30’s tended to be modest and sounded truthfull but also had some holes in it, example how he played dead shot one indian then found a cabin and two men out in the far boondocks, could not remember much more?? He was shot in the back heil/foot and cut on the face and so on. He refushed to meet with a man still alive in the 30’s from the 7Cav who he claimed to know? Still it is a great story . After the battle many dead could not be IDed , some of the mounts came from KY and could out run the shorter legged poney of the red men so it could be true however Fincle did not say anything about his Co Cpt Tom Custer or at what momment he left the action/battle. So one can not pin point the facts close if he was a real survivor. Some say that he may have been a deserter 2 times and the 2nd time used his own name? Thus did not want to give all the true facts, still it is a great story . I served in the 1st Cav in Korea 1960 Garry Owen..
By Greg Stoner on Jun 12, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Greg, This is John Koster. Thanks for the “great story” comment. A couple of points (1) the 7th Cavalry carried Springfields, not Spencers in 1876 — but a sorrel horse that may have been Finkle’s C Company horse was found at the confluence of the Rosebud and Yellowstone, 80 miles from the Little Bighorn, with the carbine still in the scabbard; (2) the story that Finkle refused to meet another 7th Cavalry veteran is bogus — Charles Windolph didn’t find out that Finkle had survived until after Finkle had died in 1930. (3) there was only one Finkle on the roster ; (4) the story about shooting an Indian after the battle didn’t appear until 1948 and came from Finkle’s second wife, Hermie Speey Finkel Billmeyer — Finkle’s first wide, Delia Rainwater, was part Cherokee and there may have been some projection there. (5) Hermie mentioned that Tom Custer had been Finkle’s company commander and listed all the other sergeants correctly. Neighbors who remember Frank Finkle say that he was a quiet, honest type of man, and the stories that he himself told, as opposed to what Hermie and reporters she talked to afterwards wrote in the newspapers, are all modest and straightfoward. He and a half-dozen others broke out when C Company collapsed but the others were all killed or fatally wounded. (Nathan Short got 25 miles before his horse fell on him and they both died together.) Last but not least, if you can find the article in “Wild West,” check the signatures from August Finkle in 1872 and Frank Finkel in 1921: same handscript. Best wishes.
By John Koster on Jun 14, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Looking for Stimpson, Abner P. (Veternan), Cass County. Enlisted in compan;y L, Second Cavalry as Bugler, Sept 14, 1861 at Niles, for 3 years, age 25. Mustered Oct 2, 1861. Re-enlisted Jan 5, 1864, at Mossy Creek, Tenn. Mustered March 29, 1864. Regimental Bugler April 1, 1864. Mustered out of Macson, Ga Aug 17, 1865.
I am confused that this website is too much and not know where is I looking for history of map for civil war. Hope this help me if get my e-mail? Thank you
By virginia on Jun 19, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Dear Virginia,
Call the National Archives in Washington DC and ask them to send you some NATF-86 forms for Old Military Records. If you fill one out with all the information you mentioned to the web site, they will send you the man’s personnel file. You can also look for Pension and Land Bounty claims in the same archive.
Best of luck,
John Koster
By John Koster on Jun 25, 2009 at 4:07 pm