Very rare group of items associated with 1st Sergeant John M. Ryan. John M. Ryan was 1st Sergeant of Company M, 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn on 25-26 June 1876. Company M was commanded by Captain T. H. French and was part of the Battalion commanded by Major Marcus Reno. Major Reno's battalion made the initial attack on the Native American encampment in the Little Bighorn Valley on June 25. In the face of overwhelming resistance, the Reno battalion retreated to a bluff across the Little Bighorn River where it was joined by troops commanded by Captain Frederick Benteen. The Reno and Benteen commands were pinned down on the bluffs above the river for two days. 1st Sergeant Ryan's Company M lost 14 troopers killed and 10 wounded during the fighting. Ryan distinguished himself in the Little Bighorn fight by leading details of volunteers to the river under fire to fill canteens for the wounded. Ryan enlisted in the 28th Massachusetts Infantry in 1861, and served in most of the major battle of the Civil War in the east. He was wounded and captured at the battle of Gettysburg and was wounded again at Reams Station, Virginia. On recovering from his second wound, he re-enlisted in the 61st Massachusetts Infantry and fought at Petersburg and Appomattox Court House. In 1866, Ryan enlisted in the newly formed 7th Cavalry and served with Custer at the Battle of Wichita and on the 1874 Black Hills Expedition. Ryan was discharged from the 7th Cavalry, at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, on December 21, 1876. His Company Commander described his character on the discharge as: "A brave, capable and trustworthy First Sergeant". Later in life, he would settle in Newton, Massachusetts, where he would retire from the local police force as a Captain following 35 years of service. This rare group consists of: (1) Sergeant Ryan's framed and matted discharge from the 7th Cavalry, (2) a framed and matted Indian War Campaign Medal with a 1989 newspaper article entitled: "From Newton to Little Big Horn" detailing Ryan's military career and a photograph of Ryan as an older man, (3) a privately purchased forage cap with brass 7th Cavalry, Company M, insignia. The hat is marked J. Ryan inside the sweat band. A note from the consigner states that the cap was purchased at the same auction as the discharge papers and was consigned by a Ryan's decendent, (4) a copy of "CUSTER'S FIRST SERGEANT JOHN RYAN" by Sandy Bernard (1996). The book details Ryan's service with the 7th Cavalry and includes numerous photographs including the discharge in this lot and the photograph of Ryan as an older man., (5) a CDV of an unidentified Cavalry Lieutenant in Indian War service dress and (6) a detailed CDV of Indian War troopers on a train. Also included with the lot is a notarized letter of provenance from 1st Sgt. Ryan's Great Granddaughter, who states that the framed discharge papers passed from the Sergeant to her father, and then to her, a printed photograph of Sgt. Ryan with a fellow M Company Sergeant, three reproduced copies of a editorial sent in to the National Tribune by Ryan following his retirement from police service regarding the immediate aftermath of Little Big Horn, and a series of documents from the Bureau of Pensions (Department of the Interior), dated from 1915 to 1924, outlining a series of pension increases, ending at $72 a month.

Very fine to excellent. The discharge is in excellent condition. The frame has glass on the back-side so that both sides of the discharge are visible. The Indian War Campaign Medal, photograph and newspaper article are in excellent condition and professionally framed and matted. The forage cap is in fine condition, the blue wool fabric is not faded and shows very little wear. The visor is slightly crazed but in excellent condition. The cotton lining is stained and has a small hole in the top. Both of the CDVs are in excellent condition. This is a rare group of memorabilia associated with 1st Sergeant John Ryan, one of the true heroes of the Battle of Little Bighorn.