Photographing Custer's Battlefield: The Images of Kenneth F. Roahen by Sandy Barnard (review)

This collection of historical photographs testifies to the enduring popularity of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The photos come from Kenneth Roahen, a game warden and Custer enthusiast who documented his many visits to the battlefield from the 1930s through the early 1970s. Using these historical images as his guide, author Sandy Barnard walked the battlefield in 2012 and photographed the same scenes. He then compiled these historic and contemporary photos, with a detailed explanation of the importance of each site in the unfolding of events on June 25, 1876. Barnard's intimate knowledge of both battlefield movements and historical sources for the battle make this a useful reference for sorting out various key events of the battle. The results might deepen one's understanding of the battle, especially for the battlefield aficionados who are interested in sorting out every soldier's actions, but for more casual readers the photos will not solve any of the open mysteries of the battle or alter the interpretations of its meaning. It seems fair to see this book as a follow-up to James Brust, Brian Pohanka, and Barnard's earlier collection of photographs, Where Custer Fell. If you liked that book and want more, this is the worthy successor.

The book includes photos from all phases of the battle, from backcountry spots before the fighting began to the famous Last Stand Hill. The book also features extensive views of the cemetery, visitor center, and entrance road. Although this is not on author Barnard's agenda, these photos might be useful for thinking about how roads and buildings have presented, and implicitly interpreted, the site. This leads to an important caveat. It is, as the title accurately suggests, a book about Custer's battlefield rather than about the Little Bighorn more broadly conceived. There is very little attention, in either the photographs or the explanations, to the Indian role in the battle or the large Lakota and Cheyenne encampment in the valley.

Documenting the specific ravine for Major Reno's retreat during the battle or the exact location where journalist Mark Kellogg was killed are precisely the sort of questions that have fascinated some battlefield experts for decades, but not exactly the significant interpretive issues likely to attract a larger audience.