An excavated .45 caliber lead bullet recovered on private land at the Little Bighorn battlefield, Montana, scene of the June 25-26, 1876 fight between Lt. Col. George A. Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry and the combined Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. The projectile is the 405-grain conical lead bullet with three lubrication grooves issued in the Army's Model 1873 Springfield ammunition. The cavalry carbine cartridge (.45-55) and the infantry rifle cartridge (.45-70) loaded the same bullet, differing only in powder charge, and Springfields captured from the troopers were turned against them during the fight, so the bullet may have been fired by either side.

The bullet carries a heavy white-grey oxidation patina consistent with long ground burial, and bears the collection number "GS 119" inked on the body. Approx. 1 1/8 in. long. Housed in a clear display capsule on a black flocked insert.

PROVENANCE

Recovered by George Scott, a seasonal park ranger at the Custer Battlefield, who is stated to have found it on private land prior to 1984. Sold by Scott to John N. Byrd of Helena, Montana; purchased from Byrd by William T. Goodman of Bozeman, Montana, as part of a collection acquired between 1991 and 1993; transferred by Goodman in October 1999 to Barry Kolbert of Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

DOCUMENTATION

The bullet is accompanied by:

A typed letter signed by William T. Goodman, Bozeman, Montana, one page, recording the chain of ownership above and identifying this piece by type and number in manuscript as a ".45-70 Bullet" numbered "GS 119."

A typed letter signed by Grover F. Botkin of Billings, Montana, on his Colt's Patent Repeating Pistols letterhead, undated, attesting to a four-year acquaintance with Scott, whom he first met while Scott served as a ranger at the battlefield at Crow Agency. Botkin describes Scott as a long-time student of the battle who explored the ground on foot, states that Scott had legal permission to metal detect on private lands on and near the Reno-Benteen defense site and Custer's hill, and describes his collection as including horseshoes, bullets, fired and loaded cartridges, buttons, metal and stone arrowheads, and fragments of shoes and uniforms. Botkin signs as a life member of the National Rifle Association and the Montana Arms Collectors Association and a charter member of the Weapons Collectors Society of Montana and the North West Arms Collectors Association.

A photocopy of a modern battlefield map showing the Custer and Reno-Benteen fields, the Indian encampment and troop and warrior movements, annotated by hand "GS119" with an outlined area on the bluffs between Weir Point and Reno's retreat crossing, apparently marking the find site.

CONDITION

Excavated condition with overall oxidation and surface pitting; minor irregularity at the base. Number legible. Letters with light handling wear.

A documented battlefield relic from the Little Bighorn, traceable by number through more than two decades of recorded ownership.    [ss][ph:L]

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