Most of us know that General* George Armstrong Custer led the 7th Cavalry to an appointment with destiny at the Little Bighorn River on June 25th, 1876, but it is not as well known that a good number of the soldiers in the 7th were also baseball players. Life in the Army in the later part of the 19th century could get pretty monotonous and downright boring and the organization of inter-unit baseball teams became a popular way of passing the time for both the officers and enlisted men in the army posts across the American frontier.
The 7th Cavalry’s baseball teams were formed by Captain Fredrick Benteen who was the senior captain and third in command at Fort Lincoln where the 7th was stationed. Benteen had been born in Petersburg Virginia in 1834 and was of Dutch descent. In 1849 his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In St. Louis, Benteen became a house painter. He was also introduced to the new game of baseball, which was starting to become very popular with young men across the country. He fell in love with the game. Benteen was a big strong athletic fellow and he joined the St. Louis Cyclone Club which fielded one of the best baseball teams in the city. Oddly enough, at this time in American sports history, baseball was considered a “Northern” Game, since it had come out of the big northern cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Benteen’s father was a staunch Southerner and was infuriated that his son would “waste” his time participating in such a useless and unprofitable activity.
When the Civil War erupted, young Benteen joined the Northern forces. His father’s last words to him were “ I hope you are killed by the first bullet fired, and that the bullet will be fired by one of your Benteen cousins who will be fighting for our glorious cause!”
Benteen and his father never saw each other again.
Fredrick Benteen fought with bravery and distinction in the Civil War and rose from Corporal of Volunteers to the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He did not, however, leave baseball behind. As the war continued, baseball became one of the most popular ways of passing the time between the fighting and was played by the men of both the Blue and the Gray forces, officers and enlisted men alike. Union Private Alpheris Parker of the 10th Massachusetts wrote “the parade ground has become a busy place with the officers and men playing the baseball game with such ardor that it borders on mania.”
Confederate Private Maynard Dial of Virginia wrote “we were playing the bat ball game with such intensity that we didn’t notice the musket fire. All of sudden, the Federals rushed us and we had to jump for our weapons. In so doing we lost the only baseball in camp.”
The Custer boys, both George and his younger brother Tom, were enthusiastic baseball players in the camp ballgames. In fact, Tom Custer was considered one of the best pitchers in the Union Army. Fred Benteen considered baseball games good conditioning and spirit building activities.
After the Civil War concluded, men such as Fred Benteen and Tom Custer stayed in the Army but continued the tradition of playing baseball as a pastime at their post. They were both instrumental in forming the 7th Cavalry baseball teams. The Benteen Baseball Club, which was made up of Benteen’s H Troop, became renowned not only for its Indian fighting but also for its prowess on the baseball diamond.
So in June of 1876, as General Custer was leading his men to meet the Sioux and Cheyenne in Montana, he was also taking some hard-nosed baseball players, including his brother, to their doom. It is also worth noting that 1876 was the year that the National Baseball League was formed. In February of 1876, eight teams left over from the National Association of Professional Baseball Players banded together to form the new league and professional baseball was on its way. Company H Sargent Joseph McCurry was the Benteen Club’s pitcher and considered the 7th’s best player and had been scouted to play with a professional team. He was critically wounded and while he survived he would never play ball again. Likewise, Private William “Fatty” Williams had already signed a contract to play with Pittsburgh at the end of his hitch. His battle wounds left him crippled and he was never able to play.
After the Little Bighorn Battle, so many players were lost that the 7th did not play baseball anymore. Fredrick Benteen retired with the rank of Brigadier General in 1888 due to rheumatism which he claimed was not from combat but from playing baseball.
*Actually his rank was Lieutenant Colonel.
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