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SPANISH LANCE POINT CAPTURED FROM THE LAKOTA SIOUX
IN THE MONTHS FOLLOWING THE LITTLE BIG HORN BY GENERAL
OSCAR LONG – RECIPIENT OF THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF
HONOR FOR HIS ACTIONS AT THE BATTLE OF BEAR PAW
MOUNTAIN: This large iron lance point is a
classic example of the edged weapons brought to the New
World by the Spanish explorers, settlers and traders as
early as the 1500’s, and these impressive, utilitarian
blades continued to be a popular trade item, provided to
the Indians on the North American plains in exchange for
hides and furs. While the Sioux remained considerably
north of the primary Spanish trading and exploration
routes, durable goods such as this point regularly moved
north through the trading relationships maintained by
the Indians.
The lance point measures 19” long overall. The blade
measures 12 ½” long and 1 ½” at its widest point. The
socket measures 7 ¼” long, featuring a 1 ½” long brass
socket tip. The socket is 1 ¼” in diameter at the
opening, and remnants of the original wooden shaft
remain lodged in the socket. Attached to the lance
point is very archaic typed paper tag which reads,
“THE SPANISH LANCE. About the year 1870,
Gen’l Oscar Long who was serving with the regular army
on the western plains presented the Corps with a head
which had been taken from a bison he had killed, and
this Sioux Indian Lance, the so called Spanish lance the
type used so cruelly by the Sioux and their allies
against our troops.”
I received the lance point with the paper card stack tag
attached, as described above. Due to the wear on the
tag, and the degree to which the typing on the tag was
beginning to fade, I transcribed the text on the tag for
easier reading and enclosed the original tag and the
transcription in a plastic protector. The original tag
was manufactured by the Dennison Tag Company. Research
revealed this company obtained a patent in 1863 for a
reinforced shipping tag – probably the same type of tag
as is attached to the lance point.
Through the Alumni Association of the United States
Military Academy at West Point I was able to obtain a
considerable amount of biographical material covering
the life of General Long.
Oscar Fizalan Long was born June 16, 1852 in Utica, New
York and entered the Military Academy at West Point in
1872. During his tenure there, Long’s artistic ability
was recognized and in addition to being appointed as an
assistant instructor of free hand drawing, he was also
responsible for designing the class ring for his Class
of 1876. Long’s artistic talent would surface again
later in his career when he designed the now familiar
Wagon Wheel, Quill and Key insignia of the Quartermaster
Department, still in use today.
Coinciding with the disaster at the Little Big Horn, the
graduation of the Class of 1876 was moved up two weeks
and upon graduation, Long waived the furlough to which
he was entitled and immediately joined the 5TH
Infantry Regiment, then in the field against the Sioux
and Cheyenne in the Montana Territory. Long
participated in the battles of Wolf Mountain and Lame
Deer Creek against the Sioux as well as numerous
scouting expeditions. In 1877 while participating in
the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain, 2ND Lt. Long
was “directed to order a troop of cavalry to advance,
and finding both its officers killed, he voluntarily
assumed command, and under heavy fire from the Indians
advanced the troop to its proper position” (CMH
citation). For this act, Lt. Long was awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor.
Long enjoyed a long and varied career that included
assignments as the 1st Aide-de-camp to
General Miles, the Adjutant General of the D.C. Militia,
and General Superintendent of the Army Transport Service
during the Spanish American War, and registered such
accomplishments as making the first official map of
Montana, authoring the army’s bicycle drill tactics
(although he never learned to ride a bicycle himself),
and designing the Quartermaster Department insignia.
General Long retired in July of 1904 and pursued a
second career as an executive in the steel and railroad
industries. He died in December of 1928 and is buried
in Oakland, California.
The West Point Museum staff made a concerted effort on
my behalf to locate any acquisition files in the
archives of the library and museum regarding the items
donated by Gen. Long, as is indicated on the tag
attached to the lance point. No records could be
located, however during this search the staff informed
me that the West Point Museum was relocated in 1988 and
in preparation for that move, a considerable amount of
material was deassessed from their collections to
facilitate the move and the records of that material
were purged from their files. It is likely that it was
during this deassession process that the lance point
moved into the modern collectors market.
It is worth noting that the choice of wording in the
text typed on the attached tag offers some validation of
the stated origin of this lance point. The text
includes, “…presented to the Corps…” rather than
referring to West Point. This reference to the persons,
i.e. the “Corps”, rather than the place, i.e. “the
Point”, is characteristic of the pre-World War One
graduates of the Military Academy. This unique
reference style is poignantly illustrated in the closing
words of General Douglas MacArthur’s farewell address at
West Point to the Corps of Cadets delivered on May 12,
1962:
“Today marks my final roll call with you. But I
want you to know that when I cross the river, my
last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the
Corps, and the Corps.” (Italics added)
Whoever wrote the text on the tag was very familiar with
West Point and the Corps of Cadets, and was probably
affiliated with the institution in some capacity.
There is no doubt that General Long was in a position to
have collected this lance point during his early
assignments in the Montana Territory during any one of
the many engagements against the Sioux in which he
participated. The value of this lance point – having
originated from the Spanish trade enterprises in the
southwest and having been collected from the Sioux in
the 1870’s – stands on its own as a significant piece of
Western Frontier history. That it was collected in the
months following the Battle of the Little Big Horn from
the Sioux who were massed against Custer is documented
as well as any artifact from that period to the
satisfaction of a reasonable mind. That it might very
well have been carried that fateful day by one of the
warriors present as he moved against the soldiers of the
7Th Cavalry is a possibility that ignites the
imagination as you hold this massive blade in your
hands. There is no question it is a unique and iconic
relic of the American West and one that should reside in
a very special collection.
SOLD
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