Author Archives: Sam Russell

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About Sam Russell

I am a fifth-generation retired Army officer with three decades of commissioned service. I have been researching the frontier Army for over eighteen years and am interested in documenting the lives of the soldiers that participated in the battle of Wounded Knee using primarily official reports, diaries, letters, newspaper articles and other primary source documents. My interest in Wounded Knee stems from my kinship to one of the principal participants. I am the great-great-grandson of Samuel M. Whitside, who was a major and battalion commander at the battle. I welcome and encourage comments on posts and pages and am always interested in any new primary sources. If you have copies of letters, diaries, etc, from participants and are willing to share, please contact me. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are strictly my own, and should in no way be construed as official Army or U.S. Government positons.

E Troop, 7th Cavalry Regiment, Muster Roll


Muster Roll of Captain Charles S. Ilsley’s Troop E of the Seventh Regiment of Cavalry, Army of the United States, (Colonel James W. Forsyth,) from the 31st day of October, 1890 to the 31st day of December, 1890. [Names in bold are believed … Continue reading

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Private Frank T. Reinecky, D Troop, 7th U.S. Cavalry – Killed in Action


My men killed three bucks and I had one man killed and one wounded. –Lieutenant Tommy Tompkins On the morning of 29 December 1890, Frank T. Reinecky, a private in Captain Godfrey’s D Troop, was mounted with his troop on the … Continue reading

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Major Samuel Marmaduke Whitside’s Campaign Letters


I am fully convinced the trouble will terminate without a shot being fired. The 7th Cavalry arrived at the Pine Ridge agency on 27 November 1890 and Major S. M. Whitside, as with many of the officers, began writing letters … Continue reading

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