Donald McIntosh (September 4, 1838 – June 25, 1876) was an officer in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who was killed at the

Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northe ...

in the

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

Biography

McIntosh was born in

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, the son of James (John) and Charlotte Robinson McIntosh (she was a direct descendant of Red Jacket, a chief of the Six Nations). His father, part of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, was killed by First Nations people when Donald was 14. Young McIntosh lived in various posts of the Hudson's Bay Company and later in Fort

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, before moving to Oregon City in 1851 and

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, in 1854. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he was chief clerk for Brig. Gen. Daniel H. Rucker in the Quartermaster Department. McIntosh married Mary (Molly) Garrett on October 30, 1866, in

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. He was appointed as Second Lieutenant, 7th U. S. Cavalry, on August 17, 1867, and was promoted to

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on March 22, 1870. In the absence of the company commander, Custer assigned McIntosh to command Company G for the 1876 summer expedition from

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

. During the early stages of the fight along the Little Big Horn River,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War a ...

took three companies of cavalry and swung through the river valley in an effort to attack the Indian village, while Custer headed off to attack the sprawling camp from the rear. Reno's attack met with initial resistance, and he ordered his troops to dismount and form a skirmish line across the valley flats for about 15 minutes. Not making any headway, he retreated with his men into a stand of timber along the river, where they formed a defensive perimeter. Shortly after the sudden death of his scout Bloody Knife, Reno lost control of the tactical situation. He ordered a desperate withdrawal back across the river onto the bluffs. G Company was among the last to leave the timber. Indians knocked McIntosh from his horse and quickly killed him. His badly mutilated body was recovered two days later when a relief column arrived. His body was originally buried where he fell. They were exhumed in July 1877 and re-interred the following month in

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

National Cemetery. In 1909, the remains were disinterred and shipped to

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

for permanent burial in Section 1. His widow received a pension of $30 per month until her death on May 12, 1910, when she was buried with him. McIntosh's brother-in-law, Francis M. Gibson (who survived the Little Big Horn fight) is buried nearby. In the summer of 1995, a finger bone with a ring was dug up on the site of Reno's battle near McIntosh's memorial marker. The ring was identified as McIntosh's wedding band by the inscribed initials of the slain officer and his wife, and the date of their wedding. It now is in a private museum in Garryowen, Montana.

References

*Hammer, Ken. ''With Custer in '76.'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1976. *Nichols, Ron. ''Men with Custer.'' Hardin: Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Donald 1838 births 1876 deaths People from Rupert's Land Union army soldiers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army officers People of the Great Sioux War of 1876 American military personnel killed in the American Indian Wars Battle of the Little Bighorn