This is part of a series of Hamilton and Wenham, Massachusetts, oral histories of the towns, produced by William Heitz and Edmund Josephs from 1986 through 1995. It was originally taped in 1987. It was converted to .m4v format by library volunteer Robyn Luna and uploaded to the Internet Archive by Sarah Lauderdale, Head of Reference at Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, on Monday, November 30, 2015. Our thanks to William Heitz for permission to upload this content to the Internet Archive. Our thanks also to volunteer John Brucker for his description of the interview, included below.
Summary:
Growing up as a child in the army, Growing up with a governess, Lifelong friends made in Hawaii, Ruth’s enjoyment of travel in the army, Army careers of Ruth’s sons, Frequency of contact with her father, General Patton’s constant reading of military history to the family, Relationship with her father, Relationship with her mother, General Patton’s relationship with his wife, Famous people that Ruth met, Study undertaken of General Custer’s last stand at Little Big Horn, Why Indians treated prisoners the way they did, White man’s lack of understanding of the Indian, Indian remedies that are still used today, General Custer’s strategy at Little Big Horn, General Custer’s ruthlessness with his men, Custer’s questionable strategy to divide his troops, Custer’s underestimation of the Indian’s armaments, Reno’s court of inquiry that investigated the truth about Custer, Investigation of the Bighorn site by archeologists, Ruth’s eclectic hobbies and interests, Ruth’s gift of total recall.
Keywords:
The following names and terms were used in this interview: Interesting subjects, Greensborough NC, Damascus Syria, Beatrice Ayer, Fort Sill, General Pershing, Pancho Villa, Captain Brown, Camp Meade, Gray Wolf, Sitting Bull, Ten Grandmothers, General Custer, Elizabeth Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse
