Did William L. Ammon Serve with General Custer?

William L. Ammon remains a mystery. There are only a few scant details known about his life and even fewer documents to support it.

William was born in 1843 to Samuel Ammon and Mary Hicks Ammon. His father, Samuel, would die when William was only 9 years old, leaving his mother to raise at least four sons, three of whom would join the Union during the Civil War.

There are no known photos of William; however, we have photos of his brothers, Beach, Levi, and probably Harvey.

William and Levi appear to be twins, based on ancestry information that lists them as both being born in 1843.

The family lived and worked in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, which would serve as a central hub for many generations of the Ammon family.

In 1862, both William and Levi were serving in the Pennsylvania infantry. Levi was in the 51st, PA infantry, while William was in Company E, 142nd Pennsylvania Regiment. Sadly, they were assigned to different regiments, so it is unclear how much they would have seen one another throughout the war.

Both William and Levi would serve in the Battle of the Wilderness, in southern Virginia, in 1864. This battle would prove devastating for the family. William would be injured in the left arm on the same day that Levi was killed. It is unknown if they were both fight near each other when this happened, or how soon William would learn of his brother's fate. William and Levi would have been 21 at the time.

Post Civil War Life

We only know two things about William's life after the Civil War: he was involved in an Indian fight in 1867 and he died on the plains of Texas in 1873. These details are found in an account published in a Lewisburg newspaper and his mother's obituary.

Below is the article that is attributed to details William shared in a letter to the Lewisburg Chronicle. Unfortunately, I have checked the Lewisburg Chronicle for that year and there is no such letter that can be found. Was the below article a fabrication? Unlikely, since William's family still lived in Lewisburg at the time and would have seen this in the paper. They could have easily communicated with him about the accuracy of the article.

That said, the details in the article, which reportedly happened on the 11th of October 1867, cannot be independently verified. My research of Indian attacks along the Santa Fe trail are plentiful up through October 1867, but none seem to mention this many men being killed. It would seem like this would have stood out as a major battle, but the frequency of Indian attacks was great, suggesting it could have just been lost to time.

Possible ties to Custer

This short article raises so many unanswered questions. Was William part of a US cavalry unit? Was he connected to one of the US forts along the Santa Fe trail? What state was he in when this attack happened? What Indian tribe attacked his company?

Military units along the Santa Fe Trail

In October 1867, several U.S. military units were stationed along the Santa Fe Trail to protect travelers, settlers, and supply routes from attacks by Native American tribes resisting westward expansion. The military presence was part of the broader Indian Wars on the Plains.

Key Military Units and Installations on the Santa Fe Trail (October 1867)

7th U.S. Cavalry – Newly formed in 1866, elements of the regiment, including companies under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, were active in Kansas and the surrounding plains.
10th U.S. Cavalry ("Buffalo Soldiers") – An African American regiment stationed in Kansas and New Mexico, playing a crucial role in protecting travelers along the trail.
18th U.S. Infantry – Engaged in garrison duties at forts along the trail.
37th U.S. Infantry – Involved in frontier duty before being consolidated into the 20th Infantry in 1869.

Forts Supporting Operations on the Santa Fe Trail

Fort Dodge (Kansas) – A key military outpost defending wagon trains and settlements.
Fort Larned (Kansas) – Served as a major supply and protection post on the trail.
Fort Lyon (Colorado) – Positioned near Bent’s Fort, helping secure the Mountain Route.
Fort Union (New Mexico) – A critical hub for military operations and supplies in the Southwest.

During this time, the military was actively engaged in conflicts with Native American tribes, particularly the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, and Arapaho, who were resisting encroachment on their lands.

What attacks happened on 11 October?

On October 11, 1867, a Comanche raiding party captured two youths, Thomas Bailey and Dick Freeman, in southeastern Montague County, Texas.

This incident occurred during a period of heightened tensions on the Texas frontier, as Native American tribes, including the Comanche, resisted encroachment on their lands by settlers. Such raids were part of the broader context of the Texas–Indian wars, which spanned several decades and involved numerous skirmishes and confrontations between Native American tribes and settlers or military forces.

While this specific event did not take place along the Santa Fe Trail, it reflects the widespread conflicts occurring in the region during that time.

Links to Custer

So was William in the 7th cavalry? I have not been able to find any military records for William after the Civil War, so either he was part of a wagon train headed to Texas/New Mexico, or he was in the military protecting travelers. Based on his past service in the Union Army and his mention of an attack on his 'company', I think it is very likely that he was serving in a military.

So far, I have not been able to find any rosters for the 7th Cavalry in 1867.

Death shrouded in mystery

As with William's life, his death is also mysterious. I was not able to find any grave marker or obituary for him. The only reason we know of his death was because it was included in his mother's obituary. See below.

The single line "perished on the plains of Texas, 1873" leaves much to the imagination. Was William still in the military at this point? Was he killed in an Indian attack? Was his body recovered and buried?

William's life was short, but it was full of experiences that showcased his bravery and love for his country. I would like to think that William and Custer sat around a camp fire swapping stories of the Civil War and battles with the Indians.