James Calhoun (soldier)

Infobox Military Person
name= James Calhoun
born= birth date|1845|8|24
died= death date and age|1876|6|25|1845|8|24
placeofbirth= Cincinnati, Ohio
placeofdeath= Little Bighorn, Montana
placeofburial=Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery


caption= James Calhoun
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United States United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=1864–1876
rank=First Lieutenant
unit=7th U.S. Cavalry
battles= Battle of the Little Bighorn
relations=George A. Custer, brother-in-law Thomas Custer, brother-in-law Boston Custer, brother-in-law

James Calhoun (August 24, 1845 – June 25, 1876) was a soldier in the United States Army during the American Civil War and the Black Hills War. He was the brother-in-law of George Armstrong Custer and was killed along with Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Calhoun was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. When the American Civil War broke out, he was travelling in Europe. Upon returning to the United States, he enlisted in the Union Army in 1864. By the end of the war, he was a Sergeant.

After the war, he was appointed to Second Lieutenant in the infantry. He met Margaret Custer in 1870, and they fell in love. His soon to be brother-in-law George Armstrong Custer had him appointed to First Lieutenant in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Company C.

Calhoun was known as "The Adonis of the Seventh" due to his handsome features, but he was never a womanizer as he married Margaret in 1872. He was part of the so-called "Custer Clan," which was a clique of close-knit relatives and friends of the former Civil War general. Calhoun was also the brother-in-law of fellow Clan member Myles Moylan. He often wrote letters to his brother and to Margaret, or Maggie as she was called, and writing with disdain of the Indian barbarianism. He often referred to them as "heathens" and foresaw a day when civilization would wipe them out.

At the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory during the Black Hills War, he was acting as temporary commander of L Company, whose commander was on detached service as aide to General Philip H. Sheridan, and killed along with most of the company. His remains were initially buried on the battlefield, but were reinterred in Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1877. A marble slab on the Little Bighorn battlefield marks the place where his body was discovered and initially buried.

References and links

* [http://littlebighorn.darkcreek.com/biographies/biocalhoun.htm Calhoun Bio]

*"Son of the Morning Star", Evan S. Connell, 1984, ISBN 0-06-097161-4
*"Classic Battles: Little Big Horn 1876", Peter Panzieri, 1995, ISBN 1-85532-458-X
*"Cavalier in Bucksin", Robert M. Utley, 1988, ISBN 0-8061-2150-5
*"Custer: A Soldier's Story", D.A. Kinsley, 1967, ISBN 0-88394-074-4
*"The Custer Autograph Album", John M. Carroll, 1994, ISBN 0-932702-97-XPersondata
NAME = Calhoun, James (soldier)
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = soldier in the United States Army killed along with George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
DATE OF BIRTH = August 24, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH = Cincinnati, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH = June 25, 1876
PLACE OF DEATH = Little Bighorn, Montana