THE VINATIERIS

s a longtime fan of the New England Patriots and a student of the Little Bighorn, I was delighted to read the piece “Custer Connection” on Adam and Felix Vinatieri in Roundup of your October 2021 issue. Although Felix (as chief musician) and all but three of the 16 enlisted men of the 7th U.S. Cavalry’s band marched with the regiment from Fort Abraham Lincoln on May 17, 1876, they did ”follow upriver on the steamboat .” They (and several other troopers) were assigned to the Powder River supply depot, which the regiment reached by land. The band’s horses were “confiscated.” Apparently, they a member of the band. He was assigned to Company H of the regiment.