Voices in Our Souls
In November 1875 James DeWolf, Army surgeon, along with his wife, Frances, arrives in Dakota Territory to join Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry. The purpose was to force the Sioux, led by Chief Sitting Bull, onto a reservation.
Based on fact, this novel tells the story of how James and Frances DeWolf dealt with living on a frontier army post (they were from “back east”). The couple befriended the Native Americans while living at Fort Totten, treating many for illnesses suffered from malnutrition. Stories of the Battle at Little Big Horn are numerous, yet this book was based upon the diary kept by James DeWolf as the 7th Cavalry moved towards the Indian encampment along the Little Big Horn River.
The novel is well researched, illustrating the close relationship between James and Frances and their plans for the future after James left the Army, and describing in detail the anxiety felt by Frances while James marched to the Indian encampment. This is a love story of two individuals caught up in a tragic battle. The authors, with the use of diaries and excerpts from letters, tell a poignant story. I recommend it to those who wish to learn more about this major American battle and to understand its effect on those who actually lived and died during Custer’s Last Stand.
