Billy Heath: The Man Who Survived Custer's Last Stand - Hardcover

Genovese, Vincent J.; Pohanka, Brian C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591020662 ISBN 13: 9781591020660

Publisher: Prometheus, 2003

Synopsis

For more than one hundred twenty-five years virtually every history book in print has contended that no white man survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where Custer made his famous "last stand." This book provides compelling proof that at least one member of the Seventh Cavalry, a man named William Heath, did indeed escape. In this intriguing analysis of hitherto neglected historical documents, Vincent J. Genovese provides verifiable evidence that dispels the long-held myth that none of Custer's soldiers survived the massacre that took place in Montana on June 25, 1876.Genovese chronicles the life of this "Lazarus of the Little Bighorn," who joined the army at age 27 after fleeing from Pennsylvania under threats on his life. Documents show that Billy Heath lived in a small coal-mining town in Pennsylvania and that he enlisted in the Seventh Cavalry in 1875, not long before the fateful battle. Further, U.S. Army records verify that he was one of the soldiers at the Little Bighorn. His name also appears on a list of those killed in action and is inscribed on the official monument that stands at the battle site.What makes Genovese's contribution to the history of this famous event so interesting are public records that he here introduces, which show indisputably that William Heath lived on for fourteen more years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Birth records from his hometown in Schuylkill County, PA, indicate that he fathered seven children before dying in obscurity. His gravestone still exists in the local cemetery.This is a unique and fascinating re-evaluation of a storied event in American history, which will surely provoke controversy.

About this title

From the Publisher:

A recurring element in the literature of any such event are the questions. Was there a survivor? Did anyone escape the debacle? Did someone live to tell the tale? To delve into this question, to follow the cold trails and puzzle over the fragmentary evidence of such a possibility, is to risk entering the world of hoaxers, hucksters, and publicity seekers--those Little Bighorn historian William A. Graham aptly termed "the fabricators of fantastic tales about Custer's Last Fight." But amidst the hoaxes, delusions, and outright lies there still remains--at least in theory--a possibility that one (or more) of Custer's men did manage to escape from the fatal battleground. . . .

Did farrier William Heath of Company L, Seventh U.S. Cavalry, survive the Battle of the Little Bighorn? Perhaps the only valid answer to that question is, Let the evidence speak for itself. -- from the foreword by Brian C. Pohanka

About the Author:

Vincent J. Genovese is the author of The Angel of Ashland: Practicing Compassion and Tempting Fate: A Biography of Robert Spencer, M.D.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1591020662
• ISBN 13: 9781591020660
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 232