Custer: The Final Mystery (2018– ) User Reviews

A Indian treasure map! And how to stuff 20 minutes into 3 hours

[tomperson · 4/10 · 12 July 2019]

First of all ley me begin with the good. The Crow and Cheyenne living verbal historians were pretty damn good. And that's where this starts down the road of the typical history channel "mystery". The raison d'etre is that there is a cache of weapons, uniforms, and money of the annihilated troopers of the 7th CAV at the Little big Horn. If you've never heard about this battle STOP...you need find your first book you've never read. The biggest time filler are the 5 or 6 "oh Gods and of goshs" where the searchers all rush up to the spot talk about the same item 3 or 4 times each time; necessitating the dreaded commercial break and the opening line when they come back. First of all consider that the Cheyenne dog soldiers hauled off and buried all this stuff for internment because hey...Indians don't need ammunition, money, or equipment. Do they? They also say the troopers had just been paid so there is about 25K in cash that was snatched up. First of all if you know troopers and I do being a retired infantry officer the first thing a trooper does when they get paid and they are about to deploy is they go out and get rid of their pay on booze, gambling and broads so the troops having a large amount of money strains incredulity. The most absurd part is where they declare that 2 Moons a Cheyenne chief made a map. A MAP!! Give me a break; as almost all Indian history is verbally passed down to the next generation. Now 2 Moons was probably a bad ass and split his share of cavalry wigs but a map!. Of course after 3 hours they...here it comes , could not find it. A treasure map is when you know you are being led to the precipice of the event horizon; being sucked in but left with nothing. This whole mini series also wants you to believe that after 150 years the Crow nation has been incredibly incompetent in not finding this priceless haul on their own land where no white boy has been allowed to blunder around on it. I could personally hear and sense the humor the elder Crow as they tell their oral histories and kind of have this little smile on the corner of the mouth as they watch the insensible white boys stumble around finding a few bullets and a few burned spots in the ground. After maybe 20 minutes of not oft repeated information they are almost on top of the find when.....they run out of time. The History channel is a damn disgrace. Its not history...anything but...

Truth Of The Series

[kirkbridgershooters · 4/10 · 22 December 2020]

After reading all the reviews, it is obvious that the series wasn't liked by these critics. I don't think the show was a total waste, but it was not finished as it was intended. I was involved with this project for the duration of the filming and 40 years previous as Craig and I spent many hours discussing this project after all the years we had spent contemplating aspects of the battle that were mostly ignored.

Comments from the critics are as flawed as their perception of the film. The mention of the cash that the soldiers wouldn't have had at the battlefield, because they would have blown it on booze and gambling before they left civilization is erroneous because their pay had been held back until after they had left civilization so they wouldn't spend it so foolishly. The bottleneck cartridge case was found while they were metal detecting near the lone teepee site, and was erroneously edited int the final cut as a 45-55 case and that is a production error, not an intentional misrepresentation. We did find an inside primed case and a correct bullet from the era not far from where it certainly could have been involved in some kind of skirmish near the lone teepee site. Nothing like this had ever been discovered before.

We had an idea in mind before this project got underway and the finished product was nothing like we had planned. There was a real organized group of support personnel that did the archaeological work, secured permission for access to the areas we filmed and recruited reliable people such as Bob Wittman who has a distinguished background with the FBI. These are components that the History Channel brought to the table to attempt to relate the story Craig and I had envisioned through our passion and research of the aftermath of the battle.

How the story turned into the film that was shown was out of our hands and left to the 2 production companies that collaborated on this project. Many things were left on the floor of the cutting room and the theme shifted completely away from our intended story line. During the 2 years of post filming production, we agonized over what information we could get as they continued their work and didn't include Craig who was an executive producer of the program. He wanted to pull the plug a few times, but I would counsel him on getting the project finished to at least get final production and recognize the accomplishment of that, if nothing more.

It is easy to be critical and I would discuss much of the criticism with the critics to clarify the concerns if such a thing was possible. It was an immense project compared to anything I had ever been exposed to before. I was disappointed many times with some of the aspects of their filming and most certainly with the final production, but to have this experience was a worthwhile proposition. We were hoping they may want to continue with a follow up story to get it back on track because the so called final mystery was not found or revealed to the viewer, which is what the title seemingly implies.

We have historical accounts that are quite compelling that do prove the existence of much of the personal belongings of the soldiers and that they were cached somewhere nearby. There is enough history and data that we have accumulated to really make an interesting program that would satisfy the appetite of any history buff should it be organized and put into production with the assistance of the people, like Craig and myself to keep it focused and on track.

It is disappointing to have such criticism on something you are so passionate about, and it is like having an ugly baby, but it is still your baby...

Sadly you can spot a fabrication easily in rthe first episode

[intrepidami · 3/10 · 28 January 2019]

There's a bottleneck shell casing dug up, and they actually get somebody of alleged expertise to claim it's from Custers era. This invalidates the entire show. All the claims of accuracy fly right out the window. That's a much more modern casing. Probably used for hunting. I'm sure as people watch this, tons of people will point this out in their reviews, To put it into perspective, it's like finding a Chevy Nova and having somebody claim its a vehicle from the 1920's.

These particular tribes were known for utilizing every resource at their disposal. To dig up people who claim they were told directly that there was an order to not pillage the battle scene is ridiculous. All the person is doing is trying to make it seem his tribe was more noble than the others.

I'm a Native American and this idea we're all holy people who never lie or make up stories is ludicrous. When I was a kid there was a reservation that burned tires constantly and every day you could see the black tendril rising from the fire for miles and miles. Nowadays that same tribe tries to act like they've been the voice of conservation forever...lol. They were the only people who could gt away with doing that and not get arrested!

I'm not here to bash my fellows, but to point out we're humans too. Humans who take advantage of whatever situation we're presented with. There's a reason Custers men were stripped naked. They wanted to utilize everything they could. Not stick it in some cavern and never speak of it again. We aren't hoarders.

Even if they do find ACTUAL shells and rounds miles from the battle site, it proves they took the armaments and used them. I don't even get what they're trying to prove otherwise? That they dropped them on their way to stashing them?

Drags on too much

[MiketheWhistle · 1/10 · 9 October 2018]

This is a 3 ep show that probably could have fit into 1, and definitely no more than 2. But it is typical History Channel fare over the past few years. It is interesting because I did learn things about the battle and its aftermath. As to being stopped, I can see it from both sides. Clearly the Indians stripped and stole the possessions of the 7th Cavalry based upon shown oral histories. A potential burial ground would and should be of concern to anyone to ensuring that if it were one's own ancestors/relatives that would be treated properly.

Weak at best........

[davidjskeen-53445 · 2/10 · 9 April 2021]

As with these shows they drag it on and on, but a so called archaeologist goes into a cave with nothing but a cell phone torch, really is a waste of time. They keep showing you rifle parts and six guns that look like they've found they did don't waste your time.

Phoney facts

[gerrymoody · 30 October 2018]

It didn't take them long to lose their credibility with phoney information. They show an apparent archeological dig at the site of the " lone tepee " and find what they say is a period rifle cartridge. An expert later alleges the cartridge is a 45 caliber of the type used by Custer'a army. I don't think so. I'm not an expert, but one can clearly see that when removed from the earth the rifle cartridge they dug up was a newer bottleneck design no where near the size of a 45 cal., more like a 30 calibre modern hunting cartridge. Did anyone else notice this ?

More White Man Exploitation

[siobhan_raven · 1/10 · 28 September 2018]

This is just another example of White Privilege showcasing itself. A family is in search of Custer's supposed treasure cache in Montana, and are curtailed by a possible Native burial site. The site is shut down, to allow Native authorities study what the site may hold, as there are bones found there. At the end of the episode, it has the typical round table discussion of how the main characters feel about their progress so far, and the patriarch of the family is more than willing to discuss his disappointment at the loss of their right to dig at that particular site, but all at the table were patting themselves on the back because they were so good and gracious to turn the site over to the Native authorities.

Basically, a load of garbage.

Horrible Piece

[phojoed · 1/10 · 7 May 2022]

This should be an embarrassment to the History Channel. It was nothing more than a hyped up reality show pretending to be history. It was a waste of three hours. It was pathetic!

Ridiculous

[kcole-22932 · 1/10 · 28 October 2018]

Another silly show about a non existing treasure. How about "Hunting Lincoln's Alien Nazi Mystery Treasure" next?

Just stupid

[kcole-22932 · 1/10 · 1 November 2018]

4 Million dollar budget they gave these idiots and the mere premise of the series is outrageous. To propose the natives took all the booty/loot from the soldiers and buried it somewhere and NOT distributive it to the benefit of the tribe is just stupid.

Truly pathetic

[mrm56 · 1/10 · 23 September 2022]

I had my doubts in the first episode so skipped to episode 3 to fast forward through much of the final episode. I watch the final 10 minutes. Lo and behold they find some horse nails and very little else which despite the insignificance of the search has the "team" convinced they were close to the "lost cache". Up they go and crawl into a small cave. A very small cave. Thankfully they were prepared and had the iPhone flashlight to find the way. But hang on ... boom shock ... that ONE cave gets shut down. I felt for the Native American cultural officer who had to put up with the cast. Thank goodness they found the bones in the cave. It was then end of search, end of series. Pathetic.

Cavalry

[trz1951 · 1/10 · 12 July 2019]

I don't trust people who say "Calvary" when they mean cavalry.

Yet another instance of some "reality" show producers only looking to sell a program. Phony baloney. Just like Yeti hunters and that fisherman guy who bores us with an hour-long search for some maneater and comes up short every time. What scams! I laugh and use the remote.

Now I'm watching "Aliens and the Civil War" on History (misnomer) Channel !!!! Quick: back to "Andy Griffith Show" or "Twilight Zone" re-runs.

Already telling lies

[gerrymoody · 30 October 2018]

It just takes one lie and it's over for me. I won't watch a show that isn't truthful. They dig up up a rifle cartridge that's obviously not from the Custer time period; it is clearly a newer bottleneck design that appears to be a longer centerfire 30 cal brass. An apparent expert later claims that it was a 45 cal used by Custers men. Not true. Anyone, even with limited knowledge of firearms, could see the cartridge is not that large. It is true that most of Custers men were carrying a 45 cal Spencer rifles that used a short rim fire bullet. They even developed a short fat bottleneck designed bullet but it was much shorter than the one found. I think what they found and reported to be a period cartridge was infact a more modern hunting round. You cannot trust this show to be factual, too bad.

Great, that's all we need

[dalefl · 1/10 · 12 July 2019]

Oak Island in Montana. It's all about the ever elusive cache (cash). I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I take my cavalry regiment into the field of battle I always look around for something really heavy for the sole purpose of slowing us all down. You never know when you're going to run across a 7-11 that only takes gold coins. Evidence... Look at this guys! I just found this thing in the middle of nowhere out of pure luck. Either that or the producers stuck it the day before.

True historians gag at crap like this.

Seriously questioning historical accuracy

[roguegrafix · 1/10 · 31 January 2019]

OK I'm confused. They claim the Crow were the enemy of Custer but I always thought the Crow had been pushed out of their land by the Sioux some 200 years earlier. The Crow were anti-Sioux and scouted for Custer who ignored their advice prior to the battle. Custer fought the Sioux, Cheyanne and Arapaho--not the Crow. How do the Crow suddenly have the alleged treasure and when (if at all) did they change sides? Others have commented on the so-called battle-era bullet being a modern bullet. I don't think this show is historically accurate.