Historian of The Battle of The Little Bighorn
Dustin corresponded with and interviewed a number of surviving Indians, civilian interpreters, and soldiers starting in the early 1900s for compilation of their personal narratives of the 1876 fight at Little Bighorn. He spent over 30 years researching the battle and its participants. Dustin was known for his disdain for Custer and criticism of his actions, and his support for the controversial Major Marcus Reno.
Ironically, he made his only visit to the Custer Battlefield in 1938. The following year, he published his life's research in a work entitled The Custer Tragedy: Events Leading Up to and Following the Little Big Horn Campaign on 1876, a work considered a classic in Custeriana.
Fred Dustin died in Saginaw, aged 90.
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