04/29/2026
Historic Fort Hays summer programming:
Saturday, May 2nd 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Visitor center 1472 highway 183 alternate Hays, Kansas
Marla matkin presents THE WIDOWS: FAITHFUL STANDBYS
None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead!
This title speaks to the trauma of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The shock of such an event would not only resonate across the country, but no one suffered as did the widows created by this tragedy. The loss of five companies and 280 men of the 7th cavalry would have a profound effect on the lives of their loved ones, comrades and friends for the rest of their lives. For everyone who wins, there are those who lose. Because the widow's stories are not often told, I share some of them with you and maybe you will all be as moved by them as I have.
The wives believed their place was with their husbands wherever they were and whatever peril might lay ahead. But after June 25th, 1876, they would assume the role of faithful standbys of the brave and gallant soldiers who rode to the sound of the bugle as one of the wives; Elizabeth Custer; later wrote in the aftermath of this tragic event; "If we mourn together the bitter pangs of loss, we will hopefully make it to the other side of sorrow"
Please join us for this insightful, moving, and interesting presentation. We have heard so much about the Battle of Little Bighorn, but the widows' stories have often been overlooked.
You really don't know the depth of emotion and the human cost of such a tragedy until you see through their eyes.
