GDG- A Question on the Bachelder papers

[Batrinque at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/5/07 12:46:34 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
chetd1 at comcast.net writes:

> My question is did historians and other scholars not use the papers 
> prior to Coddington?  Were they written and just put away somewhere and then 
> 
> rediscovered?  Were they considered out of vogue for much of the early 20th 
> century?  What is the reason why Coddington is credited with opening up the 
> papers?
> 

 I am reminded of the so-called "Camp Papers" dealing with the Little Big 
Horn (and other Indian Wars topics) - interviews with and letters from many 
participants, both White and Red.  They were little known and little used until the 
1970s when a generous selection of the papers were finally published.  Since 
then, they have proved to be among the most valuable and most often used 
primary sources regarding the LBH.  Even today the originals of the Camp Papers 
remain scattered in several library collections.


Bruce Trinque
Amston, CT