Battle Of Little Big Horn

The state of TIAH

June 25th, 2006

in 1876, scouts inform Colonel George Custer that a massive number of natives, under the command of Sitting Bull, is poised to attack them at the Little Big Horn river. After hearing the report, he sent back to his superiors, Generals Alfred Terry and John Gibbon, for reinforcements. When they reached Custer with their two columns of soldiers, they then pressed forward to attack Sitting Bull. Their movements had given the Sioux Chief time to arrange his forces for an ambush, and he fell upon the American soldiers with great ferocity. However, just as it looked like Sitting Bull was on the verge of defeat, his secondary force under the command of Crazy Horse attacked the US soldiers from the rear. Trapped between the two mighty forces, General Terry was killed, and General Gibbon ordered a retreat. He limped out of the Little Big Horn with barely a hundred men and made it back to Fort Ellis. In his official report on the battle, General Gibbon blamed Lt. Colonel Custer for the disaster, claiming that if Custer had attacked the Sioux instead of waiting for reinforcements, the natives wouldn't have had time to move into the ambush that claimed so many American soldiers.

in 1921, President of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, leaves behind the office he had held for 39 terms. Under his leadership, the AFL had spearheaded a new labor strategy that had been suggested to him by his father, a cigar maker. The Means of Production program, under which labor pooled its resources together and began buying major, and in some cases, controlling stakes in publicly held companies, gave the AFL a voice in America's boardrooms that it had never had before. After this program was adopted by other unions unaffiliated with the AFL, American companies attempted to push through a law forbidding the formation of unions, but congressman who announced their support for it were threatened with defeat in the elections of 1898. This highly-organized political campaign, which Gompers had masterminded, was the watershed moment in America's labor history. Today, thanks to this man's genius, companies in America realize that they exist for the enrichment of their employees and shareholders, not the aggrandizement of management.

in 2017, the Pokor, carrying the human spaceship the Eagle as well as the alien device that transported the humans to the Amandara system, reappears in orbit around a giant object in space. Commander Patterson, looking at the Quarai examining the object, says, “It's a Dyson sphere.” Her observation is seconded by her crew – the object does seem to be a shell around a sun. The Quarai of the Pokor immediately begin transmitting friendly messages to the sphere, much to the consternation of the human scientists. “You know, you guys could do with a little more caution,” Commander Patterson tells Captain Mawrao of the Pokor. Mawrao replies, “How can we pass up a chance to talk with civilization so advanced? Think what we can learn!” Commander Patterson acknowledges this, but tells Mawrao, “Think what they can do to us if they're not as friendly as you.”

Get yourself into TIAH!

And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

The Forum lives again!

Good long fiction from the AH. See a review of Warp at Universe Pathways Magazine

Help the Alternate Historian keep the site from growing stale!
My email address for contacting me with your writing samples, or good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Thanks again!

You can also visit the Co-Historian's store -