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Private '''James Pym''' (1852 – November 29, 1893) was a British-born soldier in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] who served with the [[7th Cavalry]] during the [[Great Sioux War of 1876]]. He was one of twenty-four men who received the [[Medal of Honor]] for gallantry, Pym being among those who volunteered to carry water from the [[Little Bighorn River]] to wounded soldiers on [[Battle of the Little Bighorn#Reno and Benteen on Reno Hill|Reno Hill]], at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]] on June 25, 1876. ==Biography (short)== James Pym was born in Garsington, [[Oxfordshire, England]] in either 1847 or 1852. According to historian Peter G. Russell, he may have deserted from the British Army and changed the date of his birth after leaving the country. Emigrating to the United States, he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army in Boston, Massachusetts on December 11, 1874. Pym saw action with the 7th Cavalry Regiment during the [[Great Sioux War of 1876-77]] and, at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]] on June 25, [[1876]], was one of fifteen soldiers who volunteered to carry water to wounded soldiers at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn#Reno and Benteen on Reno Hill|Reno-Benteen site]]. Five sharpshooters put themselves in an exposed position to cover Pym and the other men as they spent four hours carrying water in cast iron canteens and cookware 80 yards from the Little Bighorn River to Reno Hill under heavy fire. The men were ambushed by [[Sioux]] warriors, concealed in bushes along the river, and Pym was wounded in the right ankle. He and the rest of the Little Bighorn water carriers were among the twenty-four members who received the [[Medal of Honor]] for gallantry on October 5, 1878. After leaving the army in late 1879, Pym lived in [[Minnesota]] for a time and married. He and his bride then moved to [[Livingston, Montana|Livingston]] and eventually settled in [[Miles City, Montana]] where the couple rented a cabin. The former cavalryman soon established a reputation as "being someone not to mess with". According to one story, Pym disarmed a man who had pulled a gun on him and ran him out of town. Pym and his wife attempted to open a restaurant in Miles City, but after this failed, she left and Pym began drinking heavily. On November 29, 1893, he was murdered by cowboy [[Alvah Tilton]] after Pym confronted the man in the home of his wife's sister. It was discovered that he was an MOH recipient when the coroner discovered the medal pinned to Pym's body upon examination. He is one of two MOH winners, along with double recipient [[Henry Hogan]], who are buried at Custer County Cemetery. A biography of his life was written by historian Peter G. Russell and later published by [[The Custer Association of Great Britain]] for its biannual journal ''The Crow’s Nest''. In the fall of 2009, Eastern Montana Veterans Cemetery staff asked Ed Saunders, a retired Army officer living in Montana who specializes in researching and preparing cases for medals for military veterans, to investigate the grave sites of Pym and First Sergeant Henry Hogan, a dual Medal of Honor recipient also buried in Custer County Cemetery, to see if both their weathered and barely legible Medal of Honor headstones could be replaced. Neither Pym nor Hogan had any known relatives to petition the government to replace them, so Saunders prepared cases for both men and wrote to the U.S. Veterans' Administration himself. After seven months, officials granted Saunders' request and the new headstones arrived in time for Memorial Day, [[2010]]. Saunders and Kurt Holmlund, superintendent of Eastern Montana State Veterans Cemetery, both replaced the newer headstones with assistance from the local community. ==Biography (complete)== The Pym family lived in Oxfordshire for over 400 years. James' father, 19 year-old Joseph Pym, an ostler, married 20 year-old Sabina Ballard, a general servant from the village of Charney Bassett, at the Register Office in Oxford on 28 February 1846. The young couple set up home in Garsington, then a close-knit community of around 600 souls. Joseph and Sabina were destined to have eight children, the second eldest of which, James, was born at Southend, Garsington, on 7 November 1847. The infant was christened at the parish church of St. Mary by the Rev. James Ingram, President of Trinity College, Oxford, on 5 December; the same day that George Armstrong Custer was celebrating his eighth birthday. Nothing is known of James “Jim” Pym’s early life other than he attended school and at age 13 was working as a ploughboy, probably one of seven employed by Joseph Gale on his 420 acre farm in the same parish. When he was 17, an incident that took place on 14 [[April 1865]], just five days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, resulting in a charge of “attempt to commit an unnatural crime with a mare”, based on the eye-witness account of John Quartermain, a 19 year-old farm labourer, and an initial confession of guilt by the defendant. Pym (under the name Pimm) duly appeared at the Court of Quarter Sessions in Oxford on Monday, 26 [[June 1865]], and despite a plea of “All I wish to say is that I never did it,” was found guilty as charged and sentenced to a term of six months imprisonment. It is highly unlikely therefore that a disgraced Pym ever returned to live permanently in his native village. It is possible that he was the person in a story that has been handed down through four generations of another branch of the Pym family. It tells of a James Pym calling at the home of Emanuel and Elizabeth Pym in Oakley, Buckinghamshire, a small farming village not more than 10 miles from Garsington, probably in the late 1860s. Apparently he was “dressed in funny clothes and high-heeled boots,” and left behind a reputation in the family as being a “nasty, crude piece of work.” The fact that this incident most likely took place during the late 1860s, the visitor having confessed to being “a deserter from the British Army,” and afterwards “he went away to London never to be heard of again.” If true, we can say that after release from (or instead of) prison, James joined the British Army, deserted, headed to London and eventually ended up in Boston, Massachusetts. ===In the US=== On 11 [[December 1874]] he presented himself at the U.S. Army recruiting office in Boston. On enlistment Pym was described as being age 22, 5 feet 7, having blue eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion, previously employed as a laborer. His youthful appearance evidently deceived the recruiting officer, Lieutenant William Harper, into accepting that he was indeed five years younger than his actual age. Lying about his age may or may not add weight to the theory that he was a British Army deserter. From Boston Pym was sent to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, where he completed his basic training on 29 [[January 1875]] and was assigned to Company B, then stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana. He arrived at Shreveport on 10 [[February 1875]] along with 27 other new recruits, among whom no less than ten hailed from the British Isles. Shreveport was in the [[District of the Red River]] under the command of [[Lewis Merrill]], the [[Seventh Cavalry]]’s second major. Fourteen of the new recruits joined Pym in Company B, while the remaining 12 were assigned to Company G, which was garrisoned in the same city. In the absence of Captain [[William Thompson]], who was on leave, and First Lieutenant [[Thomas Custer]], who was on detached service at [[Fort Abraham Lincoln]], Second Lieutenant [[Benjamin Hodgson]] was commanding the company. The Regimental Return for [[February 1875]] shows that Company B numbered 68 enlisted men, of which two were sick, one was on leave and five under arrest or in confinement. The 7th Cavalry was engaged in what was known as ‘[[Reconstruction]],’ however, their time in the South proved to be relatively uneventful. On 19 [[April 1876]] Companies B and G left Shreveport for Fort Abraham Lincoln, [[Dakota Territory]], via [[St. Louis, Missouri]] and [[St. Paul, Minnesota]], and arrived at Bismarck eleven days later, with an 8 day layover in St. Louis. Exact mode of transportation is not yet proven, but perhaps mostly by train following the Mississippi RiverAgain Hodgson was in command of Company B as 62 year-old Thompson had recently retired and his replacement, Captain [[Thomas McDougall]], did not join the company until 11 May. In the meanwhile, Tom Custer, who had been promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to command Company C, was replaced by First Lieutenant [[William Craycroft]] but he, too, was absent due to being a member of a ‘Board of Officers’ charged with purchasing horses for the regiment at St. Paul. In 1935 Emma Klawitter, widow of Private [[Ferdinand Klawitter]], Company B, then in her late seventies, told the following story to Mark Lagerberg about her journey with the 7th Cavalry from Shreveport, Louisiana to Fort Abraham Lincoln in April 1876. She said: We were stopped in St. Louis for eight days and it was there where I got another big scare. A soldier name Pym, who had been company cook for many years, went on a spree. His sweetheart worked for one of the officers, and of course, a private wasn’t allowed in the officer’s coach; but this time Pym tried to force his way past the negro porter. Lieutenant Hodgson came out and then the brawl began. Hodgson said, “I’m going to draw some of your English blood if you don’t get back to your quarters!” That just made matters worse. Pym replied, “I’m going to make you shoot me,” and he commenced to take his shirt off. Then the commanding officer Lt. [[Donald McIntosh]] came out, called the guards, and they set Pym down in a seat right in front of mine. But Pym wasn’t conquered yet. He kept on swearing so long that the commanding officer put a wooden gag in his mouth, but I could still hear that he kept on trying to swear. In the morning, his tongue was so thick it completely filled his mouth. I heard Pym say that he was going to kill Hodgson if the Indians didn’t beat him to it; and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, because Hodgson was killed just as his horse had crossed a river out in Montana and Pym was out in the deep water just behind him. [Pym was with the packs!] Pym never denied that he shot Hodgson, either; but, you know they never did anything to Pym for that. That man Pym was never conquered. It was on 1 [[May 1876]] that Companies B, G and K, under the command of First Lieutenant [[Edward Godfrey]], crossed the Missouri River and went into camp about two miles south of Fort Lincoln. Companies H and M, under Captain [[Frederick Benteen]], arrived from [[Fort Rice]] on 5 May and, later the same day, were joined by the Field Staff, the Band and the remaining seven companies of the regiment. This was the first time since its formation in [[1866]] that all twelve companies of the 7th Cavalry would actually serve together. They were preparing to take part in an expedition, under the overall command of Brigadier General [[Alfred H. Terry]], to operate against the Sioux who, because they had defied an order to report to designated reservations by 31 [[January 1876]], were regarded as ‘hostiles’ by the United States Government. ===The Battle of the Little Big Horn=== Suffice to say Company B, under the command of Captain McDougall, went on the Reno Scout which discovered the Indian trail leading up the Rosebud Valley; was assigned to escort the pack train; and joined Reno and Benteen’s beleaguered battalions on [[Reno Hill]], without knowing what had happened to Custer and his five companies. Pym’s claim to have been one of Company B’s trumpeters at the time of the battle is supported by the fact that neither of the two regular trumpeters was present. [[John Connell]] suffered a kick from a horse on 29 [[May 1876]] and was recovering from his injury at the [[Powder River Depot]], while [[James Kelly]] was serving three months in confinement with hard labor at Fort Lincoln for being absent without leave and selling or disposing of a coat shortly before Company B left Shreveport. On the morning of [[26 June 1876]], the second day of the battle, the hot sun was already beating down and the wounded on Reno Hill were in desperate need of water. Benteen responded by leading a charge west of his position, which cleared a route down to the river, since named Water Carriers’ Ravine. Many men, including Pym, volunteered to go for water. They took with them iron canteens and camp kettles and made the hazardous trip to the river under heavy fire from the enemy during which a trooper was killed and several injured, one of whom was Pym, who sustained a gunshot wound to his right ankle. Each trooper is believed to have made more than one trip to the river. The water they brought back undoubtedly saved many lives. As the day wore on the rate of enemy fire noticeably decreased and late in the afternoon the Indians broke camp before moving slowly away from the river in the direction of the [[Big Horn Mountains]] – the Battle of the Little Big Horn was over. At about 10:30 a.m. the following morning General Alfred Terry, Colonel [[John Gibbon]] and Gibbon’s Chief of Scouts, First Lieutenant [[James Bradley]], arrived at Reno Hill and brought the shocking news that Custer and all 209 men under his immediate command were dead. Sometime later McDougall took Company B to the abandoned village to look for implements to use in burying the fallen and upon crossing the river they found Keogh’s horse, [[Comanche]], in some bushes that lined the bank. One of the men (Pym perhaps?) was detailed to temporarily look after the badly wounded animal, which miraculously survived and lived a further 16 years. Reno ordered McDougall and his men to bury the dead of Company E, which the captain had commanded for several years. Most of the men had been killed in or near a deep ravine that was just across the river from the abandoned village. The stench was so great that many men began to vomit and, lacking proper tools, piled large chunks of earth broken off the side of the ravine over the decaying bodies. ===Chasing Indians=== Having done all it could at the battlefield, with the limited resources available, the much depleted regiment made its way to the mouth of the Bighorn River where it remained in camp from [[30 June 1876]] until [[27 July 1876]] when it moved to a new site near the confluence of Rosebud Creek and the Yellowstone. Pym’s name appears on the petition reputedly signed on [[4 July 1876]] by 236 survivors of the battle, which was addressed to the President of the United States and Congress asking that Major Reno be promoted to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer; and that Captain Benteen be then promoted to fill the vacancy caused by the requested promotion of Reno. The veracity of this document continues to remain in doubt. Having suffered three killed and five wounded during the battle, further tragedy was to strike Company B on [[25 July 1876]] when Private [[Richard Wallace]], who enlisted in Boston a few days before Pym and had traveled with him to Shreveport in [[February 1875]], was drowned while crossing a small stream near the Yellowstone River to go on picket duty. On [[8 August 1876]] the regiment marched 35 miles up the Rosebud and joined General [[George Crook]] three days later. The combined forces then moved to the Tongue River and in about 40 miles crossed the Powder River before returning to the Yellowstone camp on [[8 August 1876]]. The next two weeks were spent fruitlessly scouting the Powder River Country and by the end of August Company B was in camp at the [[cantonment of the Tongue River]] (the future site of Miles City, where Pym would spend his last years), where it remained until [[18 October 1876]] when orders were received to rejoin the regiment in camp on the Missouri River. By early December they were safely settled in their winter quarters back at Fort Lincoln. It was towards the end of [[April 1877]] that Companies B, E, G, K, I and L went into camp near the fort in preparation for a new campaign and a week later set out for the Tongue, via [[Fort Buford]], to report for field service. They reached Buford on [[17 May 1876]], at which place they were forced to remain for six days due to exceptionally heavy rain. However, by [[29 May 1876]] all the six companies had arrived at [[Cedar Creek]] where they set up a permanent camp in compliance with orders received from Colonel [[Nelson A. Miles]], 5th Infantry. Company B left the regiment on [13 June 1876]] to join the command of Major [[Henry M. Lazelle]], 1st Infantry, which was engaged in scouting that part of the country between the Little Missouri and the Yellowstone; again without success in spite of having marched 550 miles in July alone. During August Company B remained in the field under the command of Major [[James S. Brisbin]], 2nd Cavalry, engaged in pursuing small bands of hostile Indians and scouting the Powder River Country, until it rejoined General Crook at Fort Buford on the twenty-fourth. The next nine weeks or so were again spent in the field and the regiment arrived back at Buford on 9 November, two days after [[Chief Joseph]] had been brought to the fort following his surrender to General [[Oliver Howard]] on 5 October at [[Bear Paw Mountain]]. On [[10 November 1877]] Companies B, E, I, L and M left Buford for Fort Lincoln to escort around 240 of the captured [[Nez Perce]] Indians, including Chief Joseph himself. The column stopped for one night en route at [[Fort Berthold]] and arrived at Fort Lincoln on 19 November. Four of the Companies went into winter camp there, while Company B was posted to the [[Standing Rock Agency]]. ===Awarded the Medal of Honor=== It was from Standing Rock on [[17 March 1878]] that Captain McDougall wrote to the recently formed Seventh U.S. Cavalry Medal Board recommending nine men from Company B and including a supporting statement for each of them. With regard to Pym he said: Private James Pym behaved with extraordinary coolness during two days of fighting – especially so on the 26th when he volunteered to go for water in order to relieve the men on the line, which was a hazardous undertaking. He succeeded, however, in obtaining water, although under brisk fire from the Indians all the time. In reward for his brave conduct under the trying circumstances of our situation I recommend him for a Medal of Honor. Pym was still at the agency when he learned he was one of six members of Company B to be awarded the Medal of Honor and it is reasonably safe to assume it was ceremonially presented to him by McDougall at Standing Rock sometime soon after [[5 October 1878]]. The citation reads: “Voluntary went for water and secured the same under heavy fire.” ===Last weeks in the military=== The time spent at Standing Rock appears to have passed without any major incident although on [[27 August 1878]] Company B set off after a party of Indians who had left the agency without permission. After a day and a half’s hard riding they caught up with the Indians about 12 miles west of [[Fort Rice]] and brought them and their ponies back to Standing Rock. Company B remained at Standing Rock until 7 December that year when it was transferred to [[Fort Yates]] where on [[10 December 1879]] James Pym was discharged as a “private of good character;” thus bringing his truly eventful five-year enlistment in the United States Army to an honorable end. ===Civilian Life=== In common with many former members of the 7th Cavalry, Pym gravitated to the town of Bismarck (present-day North Dakota) from where, on [[20 July 1881]], he was the first person to request that his Medal of Honor be repaired or replaced. Writing on letterhead from the law firm of George Flannery and J.E. Wetherly, he stated that his medal was defective and parts were lost. By the same letter he forwarded the broken medal, asking that it be repaired and returned to him at Bismarck. The pendant had been lost due to a defect in the suspension rings. The War Department was aware of this defect and had authorized replacement for other medals where the pendant was lost. In a letter of [[4 August 1881]], the Adjutant General ordered a new medal, which was engraved as follows: “The Congress to Pvt. James Pym, Co. B. > “7” Cav. < for bravery in action at the Little Big Horn River, Montana Territory 25-261876.” The replacement medal was sent to Pym on [[29 August 1881]]. The next twelve years or so is yet another obscure period in Pym’s enigmatic life. It is widely quoted that he served as city marshal in Lake City, Wabasha County, Minnesota, where he wed 24 year-old [[Sarah Kavanagh (née Underwood)]], originally from County Wexford, Ireland, on [[30 March 1887]]; a marriage which would remain childless. It would seem that they left Lake City in something of a hurry. Indeed, a classic ‘moonlight flit’! The Saint Paul Daily Globe, [[25 September 1889]] – Anxious about Jim Pym – Special to the Globe: LAKE CITY, Sept. 24, – James Pym and wife departed for parts unknown at 3 o’clock this morning, leaving behind them no word as to the place of their destination. Mr. Pym leaves debts amounting to about $200. One of his creditors was Fred Schmans, who made hot pursuit for his rent of $25 for the house in which they lived, but returned after a prolonged and fruitless search. ===The Pyms arrive in [[Miles City, Montana]]=== Their destination turned out to be Livingston, Montana, but they stayed in that place for only a short time before moving on to [[Miles City, Montana]]. The Daily [[Yellowstone Journal]], [[1 January 1891]] – J. J. Pym has opened a restaurant in the rear of Schmalsle’s saloon, where he will be prepared to furnish the best the market affords at all times. (German-born [[W. F. 'Fred' Schmalsle]] was a former buffalo hunter and had also been a scout for General Nelson Miles. In the [[Red River War]] he was noted for special bravery by helping rescue two of the German sisters, and bringing help to the Cavalry who were under an Indian attack.) The Pyms rented a small log shack next door to [[Laton A. Huffman]], the well-known frontier photographer. Although in many respects Pym was unassertive, quiet and ordinary, the former cavalryman quickly earned the reputation of being someone not to mess with. Huffman described him as “a product of his times, direct in action and tough as boot leather.” He recalled an incident when a young cowboy pulled a gun on the Pym in front of his studio. Without hesitation Pym took the gun out of the fellow’s hand, tossed it away, knocked his assailant down, kicked him and told him to leave town and not to show his face in it again. The cowboy left! On another occasion Pym was arrested for carrying concealed weapons. For whatever reason, the restaurant did not do well, and Jim and Sarah went their separate ways. Pym filed an application for an army pension on 21 October the same year, which proved to be unsuccessful. Now down on his luck, he resorted to various ways of earning a living by doing odd jobs around the town and, one occasion, [[1 May 1891]], he received $6.00 for “work on the streets.” He also found temporary employment in other towns, including Glendive. The Yellowstone Journal, [[2 August 1893]] – James Pym, who recently returned to Miles City, has became involved in serious difficulty with his wife and yesterday found it, from his standpoint, necessary to advertise the fact that he would not be responsible for her debts. Later in the day he became partially intoxicated, and created a disturbance in the neighborhood of Mrs. Pym’s store in Park street. He was arrested and arraigned before Magistrate [[Gibb]], entering a plea of guilty, and paying his fine of $5 and costs. (Sarah ran a fruit store which, on [[10 August 1893]], was broken into and a large quantity of oranges stolen.) A brooding Pym continued to drink heavily and turned for solace to his sister-in-law, [[Mary Underwood]], an uneducated immigrant from Ireland, wife of [[Daniel Cronin]] and the mother of two young children. Being employed on an outlying ranch, Cronin was often away from home and 29 year-old Mary took in washing to supplement her husband’s earnings. It was in the course of her duties as a laundress that the unfortunate woman became the sole witness to the killing of Pym. ===Gunned down by a Cowboy=== Around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, [[29 November 1893]], a single pistol shot was heard in the area of North Fifth and Palmer Streets, Miles City, followed by the screams of a woman, coming from the home of Daniel Cronin. [[James Casey]] who lived in the adjoining house ran out just in time to see a man hurriedly leaving Cronin’s and turn down towards Main Street, while Mrs Cronin had fallen in the snow near the back door. Casey took her into his house before going into next door where he found James Pym lying on the floor, clearly dying. He at once gave the alarm and Dr [[Robert G. Redd]], Deputy Sheriff [[Thurman]], Chief of Police [[E. S. Jackson]] and Acting Coroner [[John Gibb]] were soon on the scene. Dr Redd pronounced Pym dead and the acting coroner proceeded to swear a jury, while the law officers immediately started an investigation. According to Mary Cronin, [[Alvah Tilton]], who had been working for the 7UK outfit, near Forsyth, returned to the city the day before and came to her house to collect some washing she had done for him. They were in the middle room of the three in the building when Pym opened the front door and burst in. As soon as he saw Tilton he walked up to him, and saying “You son-of-a-bitch, I’ve been looking for you all day,” hit him two or three times. Tilton staggered back against the wall and in an instant fired, although Mrs Cronin claimed that she did not see any weapon. The unarmed Pym turned and left the room, laughing as he went, but died where he fell. Tilton ran out of the back door and disappeared. As soon as Tilton left the house he went straight to [[Hi Astle]]’s livery stable, where he had a saddle horse, put on his overcoat, hat and spurs, and took to the hills. The night was very stormy and cold, and it was unlikely he could get away, so no effort was made to follow him until the next morning, when Sheriff [[James B Hawkins]], Deputy Thurman, and Chief of Police Jackson crossed the Tongue River, and set off in pursuit. About four miles above town they found Tilton’s campfire, near which he had passed part of the night, where his horse had been tied in the brush and a very fresh trail leading up river. Thurman and Jackson pressed on while the sheriff came back to town. Tilton’s trail was easy to follow on the snow-covered ground and he was soon found at [[Frank Herman]]’s ranch eating breakfast. Two Winchesters close to his head removed any idea of him making a fight, and shortly after midday he was safely locked up in the town’s jail. He said, and related circumstances to prove it, that after crossing the frozen river he came back to Cronin’s house on foot and remained in the neighborhood for about an hour. It was during this time he learned that Pym was dead and the officers would not be following him until morning. Tilton was subsequently charged with murder but found guilty on the reduced count of manslaughter, which carried a sentence of six years. Pym's motivations, if known, were never published. For unknown reasons, it proved difficult to assemble a jury. ===The Aftermath=== According to Laton Huffman, “Jim Pym was mighty good to his wife” and even if they were separated at the time he was killed she may well have carried some feeling of guilt for her part in the events leading to his death. It would be rather touching, and somewhat romantic, that an estranged wife was prepared to spend a significant sum of money to have her late husband decently buried, but this may not have been the case. The Yellowstone Journal, [[16 August 1894]] – The remains of J. J. Pym were this morning removed from the Patter’s field to a private lot in the protestant cemetary (sic) at the request of his wife. ([[Sarah Pym]] was a Catholic.) Furthermore, it is interesting to note that Sarah Pym chose the words “Jas. Pym/Co. B/7th U.S. Cav.” for the inscription on his headstone even though he had been out of the army for over 14 years. Like his still wearing his Medal of Honor, it speaks volumes of what his time in the Seventh meant to him. Sarah hadn’t even known him during his service days, which makes it all the more remarkable.* Some years ago, through the good offices of the Veterans Association, the original headstone was replaced by the traditional military-style monument although an additional initial ‘J’ was incorrectly inserted and, as referred to above, his birth year is incorrectly shown as being 1852. The name of the cemetery was changed to the [[Custer County Cemetery]] in 1922 when the county purchased the old burial ground from a privately owned company.] The Yellowstone Journal, [[26 October 1894]], announced that a “marriage license was issued to [[James Welsh]] and Sarah Pym of Miles City. Another record shows that Sarah had actually tied the knot with 27 year-old James Welch (or Welsh), originally from Carroll County, Missouri, the previous day. This marriage ended in divorce and, on 1 July 1911, Sarah took 33 year-old [[Arthur Jellison]], originally from Mariaville, Maine, to be her fourth husband. Sarah [Underwood, Kavanagh, Pym, Welch] Jellison died in Miles City on 30 November 1923 – thirty years and a day after James Pym was gunned down in the same city. Her grave has not yet been located by this writer. Pym’s Medal of Honor, which he was wearing at the time he was killed, eventually came into the possession of Casey Barthelmess, son of [[Christian Barthelmess]], Chief Musician, [[22nd Infantry]] and photographer at old [[Fort Keogh]]. The story goes that a young woman, who wished to remain anonymous,* handed the medal to Barthelmess on the strict understanding that it would be donated to the [[Custer Battlefield National Monument]], which he duly did. In a letter to Casey Barthelmess, Olive, Montana, dated 26 July 1949, Superintendent Edward. S. Luce wrote: On behalf of the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park service, I desire to acknowledge your gift of the Congressional Medal of Honor which was presented to “Pvt. James Pym, Co. B. ‘7’ Cav. for bravery in action at Little Big Horn River, Montana Territory, June 25-26, 1876.” This gift is greatly appreciated and will, I believe, prove to be a valued addition to the proposed Custer Battlefield Museum in which it is to be deposited and accorded the same care and protection given our other materials. It is understood, however, that the Federal Government is not bound by any agreement regarding the care, display, or disposal of the property. Note (*): Martha Jellison, born c. 1915, the adopted daughter of Arthur and Sarah Jellison [the former Mrs James Pym] is the likely donor, as she continued to live in Montana for many years after her mother’s demise, which places her in the right place at the right time to hand the medal to Casey Barthelmess. Martha married William S. Saltmarsh at Columbus, Stillwater County, MT on 2 July 1941. From there the trail goes cold. Apparently Pym had further troubles with his medal as the pendant currently on display in the battlefield museum is suspended from a Grand Army of the Republic brooch and much worn ribbon. No photograph or other image of James Pym is known to exist. ===Details of his heroic deed=== While he was a resident of Miles City, Pym confided to friends the circumstances of the incident for which congress had voted him the medal of honor. Major Reno, he said, had been driven back across the river by the Indians engaged in the battle, and held him on Reno Hill. The situation on the hill grew desperate on account of the lack of water. Time after time soldiers of the Reno command volunteered to go down to the river and bring back canteens filled with water, but were repulsed by the ever-watchful Indians who lurked in the shadows along the path which about the only trail possible to travel on the way to the water. Pym had related that a desperate situation required a desperate effort to overcome. While he had been repulsed in an effort to gain the river bank, he stated that he was able to make some observations of which he took advantage in his final effort, which succeeded. Fastening a number of canteens together he placed them about his body and over his shoulders. He carried two in his mouth. Moving stealthily along during the morning of June 26, Pym was able to reach the water where he filled the canteens. The most hazardous part of the trip was the undertaken. He crawled along on hands and knees. The canteens at first seemed to be light enough, but as he proceeded, keeping out of sight sand covering his progress without betraying his presence, the metal containers began to “weigh like lead.” Unable to release his hands to ease the weight of the two filled canteens he was carrying in his teeth, Pym would describe the agony he experienced in a manner to indicate the pain he felt. He realized every drop of water was precious, and he was determined that none of it should be lost. Reaching a point within what he considered was a hailing distance from the top of the hill, Pym threw precaution to the winds, and removing the canteens from his mouth, “which by their weight nearly pulled my teeth out of their sockets,” he made a rush forward. When within sight of the soldiers he felt that he had come under their protection, and gaining the top fell exhausted, but every canteen had been brought filled with water. He was regarded as a hero. As the story of the Custer Battle was unfolded, Pym was cited by his superior officer for the above brave deed he had performed. Recommendations where made when congress voted him the medal of honor. He prized it highly within himself, but was hesitant when it came to a matter of exhibiting it on his person, for it was always “out of sight.” While distinguished by this event, his friends said of him that he was his own greatest enemy. Source: ‘James Pym, Hero of Custer Fight, Was killed in Brawl at Sister-in-Law’s Home; Friend Fired Shot,’ by “Montana Lou” Grill, Montana Newspaper Association – 25 January 1937. ===Pym's Application for an Army Pension=== Although James Pym was wounded while fetching water for the wounded on the second day of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, for which he was awarded to coveted Medal of Honor, he never actually received an army disability pension despite the opinion of the doctor who examined him his claim was a valid and legitimate one. Pym’s ‘Declaration for Original Invalid Pension’ form and other documentation were completed at Miles City, Montana, on 3 October 1891 and duly filed by the Pensions Office on 21st day of that month, being allocated Claim No. 1066405. He stated that “while in the service and in line of his duty at [the] Battle of Little Big Horn in the state of Montana on 26th day of June 1876 he incurred a gun shot wound of right ankle under the following circumstance: I was one of a party of Volunteers to go after Water in sight of the Enemy (hostile Sioux Indians) the entire Command having been cut off from the supply of Water and famishing for the want of it, especially the wounded. That I was treated in the Field Hospital on Little Big Horn, Mont., for after being wounded, afterwards on the same Expedition I returned for duty although suffering from my wound.” Taken from the Declaration for Original Invalid Pension dated 3 October 1891. Pension Claim No. 1066405 (Abandoned) A medical examination was arranged with Dr. [[Andrew R. Duncan]],1 Glendive, Montana, for 2 March 1892 when Pym claimed that “the gunshot wound of his right ankle still gives him great pain, that he also suffers from cholera,2 catarrh3 & neuralgia,4 and that he suffers from scald of both arms.5” Upon examination Dr. Duncan observed a scar on the inner side of the right ankle, which measured one inch wide and three inches long. There were several brown patches surrounding it. The scar was adherent and tender. Pym told the doctor that it “breaks out” occasionally. Duncan could find no evidence of cholera but agreed that the mucous membrane of the claimant’s nose was reddened and congested although there were no ulcers. Pym’s throat was reddened also and his tonsils slightly enlarged. He complained of frontal headache and “Neuralgia across bridge of nose.” On the outer aspect of his right forearm there were slight scars due to scalds, but they were not deep and Duncan did not think that they impaired the usefulness of the arm. Pym’s left wrist and forearm also showed slight scars, but again not sufficient to cause disability. It was noted that the tongue was coated brown and fissured. The liver was normal. And, finally, Pym had a slight cough. Dr Duncan stated that in his opinion Pym was entitled to a 6/18 rating for the disability caused by the gunshot wound of ankle and 4/18 for that caused by catarrh, but nothing for that caused by cholera and for that caused by scalds of both arms. On 28 May 1892 Pym provided the Department of the Interior with information regarding his marital status, when and where he was married and that he did not have any children. The paper trail then goes cold until 29 September 1902 when the Attorneys, Allan Rutherford & Co, Washington, D.C., wrote to the Hon. Commissioner of Pensions informing him that letters addressed to the claimant at Miles City, Montana were returned by the Post Office marked “unclaimed,” which is hardly surprising as this brave, if enigmatic, cavalryman had been dead for over eight years! I have found no record of his widow, Sarah Underwood, ever claiming or being granted an army pension. ==Medal of Honor citation== Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Little Big Horn River, Mont., 25 June 1876. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Birth: Oxfordshire, England. Date of issue: 5 October 1878. '''Citation:''' <blockquote>Voluntarily went for water and secured the same under heavy fire.</blockquote> ==See also== *[[List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars]] ==Further reading== *Russell, Peter Groundwater. Men With Custer UK, http://www.menwithcuster.com/51/ *Brown, Mark H. and William Reid Felton. ''The Frontier Years: L. A. Huffman, Photographer of the Plains''. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1955. *Carroll, John M., ed. They Rode with Custer: A Biographical Directory of the Men That Rode with General George A. Custer. Mattituck, New York: J.M. Carroll & Company, 1993. (pg. 202) *Brust, James S., Brian C. Pohanka and Sandy Barnard. Where Custer Fell: Photographs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Then and Now. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. (pg. 69, 196) ISBN 0-8061-3834-3 *Beyer, Walter F. and Oscar Frederick Keydel, ed. Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations. Vol. 2. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company, 1906. (pg. 221) *Dustin, Fred. The Custer Tragedy: Events Leading Up To and Following the Little Big Horn Campaign of 1876. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Edwards Brothers, 1939. (pg. 231) *Chandler, Melbourne C. Of GarryOwen in Glory: The History of the Seventh United States Cavalry Regiment. Annandale, Virginia: The Turnpike Press, 1960. (pg. 397) *Magnussen, Daniel O., ed. Peter Thompson's Narrative of the Little Bighorn Campaign, 1876: A Critical Analysis of an Eyewitness Account of the Custer Debacle. Glendale, California: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1974. (pg. 315) ISBN 0-87062-108-4 *Brininstool, E.A. A Trooper with Custer, and Other Historic Incidents of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1975. (pg. 182) ISBN 0-8154-0500-6 *Hammer, Kenneth M., ed. Custer in '76: Walter Camp's Notes on the Custer Fight. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1976. (pg. 268) ISBN 0-8425-0399-4 *Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 309, 1019) *Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN 0-939526-19-0 *O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Barbed Wire Press, 1991. (pg. 31) ISBN 0-935269-07-X *Schoenberger, Dale T. The End of Custer: The Death of an American Military Legend. Surrey, British Columbia: Hancock House Publishers, 1995. (pg. 243) ISBN 0-88839-288-5 *Russell, Jerry L., ed. 1876 Facts About Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. New York: Da Capo Press, 1999. (pg. 18, 24) ISBN 1-882810-34-1 *Hatch, Thom. The Custer Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Life of George Armstrong Custer and the Plains Indian Wars. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2002. (pg. 242) ISBN 0-8117-0477-7 *Scott, Douglas D., P. Willey and Melissa A. Connor. They Died With Custer: Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. (pg. 242) ISBN 0-8061-3507-7 *Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 207) ISBN 1-59416-016-3 *Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2007. (pg. 141) ISBN 0-7864-2936-4 *Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for James Pym". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010. *Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: James Pym". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010. *Lutey, Tom (May 29, 2010). "Laurel veteran works hard, digs deep to honor men buried in Miles City Cemetery". Billings Gazette. *"Veteran of Custer Fight Killed.". The Daily Telegraph. December 1, 1893. *Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "Photo of Grave site of MOH Recipient James Pym". Medal of Honor recipient Gravesites In The State of Montana. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010. *"Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009. ==External links== * [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6403539 Find A Grave entry] [[Category:1852 births]] [[Category:1893 deaths]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Indian Wars]] [[Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients]] [[Category:People from Oxfordshire]] [[Category:People from Miles City, Montana]] [[Category:Foreign-born Medal of Honor recipients]] [[Category:American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor]]
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