Keogh, Myles Walter, 1840-1876

Irish born officer who died with Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Biography / Administrative History

Myles Keogh was born on March 25, 1840 in Orchard, Leighlinbridge, County Carlow, Ireland to John and Margaret Keogh. After finishing school in Leighlinbridge, he attended St. Patrick's College in Carlow.

Keogh had a distinguished military career in both Italy and the United States. He served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Irish Battalion of St. Patrick during the Papal War in 1860. After the war ended, he remained at the Vatican and served as part of the Papal Guard. For his service in the Papal War, he received a Papal Medal and the decoration of The Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

Keogh left Italy for the United States in 1862 to volunteer for service in the Civil War. He served under Brigadier General James Shields, Brigadier General John Buford, General McClelland and General Stoneman, and fought in numerous important Civil War battles including the Battle of Gettysburg. By the end of the Civil War in April of 1865, Keogh had fought in over 80 battles, been taken prisoner with General Stoneman, and was promoted to Major.

After the Civil War, Keogh joined the regular army as Captain in the 7th Cavalry under Custer. He was the 4th Senior Captain of that regiment, and commanded Troop I. From 1866 to 1876, Keogh served as Inspector-General to the staff of General Alfred Scully; enforced government policy concerning the Ku Klux Klan and bootlegging; and escorted the Northern Pacific Boundary Survey on the U.S. Canadian border. He did not participate in Custer's winter campaign of 1868, or the skirmishes in the Yellowstone area and the Black Hills in 1874. His service during these ten years was punctuated by sick leave and a number of trips back to Ireland; he also became engaged to Nelly Martin of the wealthy Throop-Martin family of Auburn, New York. Keogh also became a U.S. Citizen on August 25, 1869, in New York.

Keogh fought and died with Custer during the Battle of Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876. On that day, Keogh was second-in-command, leading his own troop in addition to several others. Custer's and Keogh's bodies were the only ones that were not scalped or mutilated in any way after the battle. Keogh's body was found near his mount, Comanche, as well as the dead bodies of his own troop. Initially, both he and Custer were buried at the battleground. Keogh was later re-interred with full military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York. Comanche was nursed back to health and then sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he remained until his death in 1891.