Custer's Cheyenne Lover

A Photograph by Will Soule of a woman named Mon-No-Na; thought to be Monahsetah.

One of the big questions about George Armstrong Custer: did he have a Cheyenne mistress who bore him at least one son?

It’s hard to be sure, but historians like T.J. Stiles (and some Native Americans) believe Custer did have a romance with Monahseta. She was captured after the 1868 Battle of Washita River. They apparently had a loving relationship (much to the chagrin of Custer’s wife Libby, who probably knew about the affair).

Some Cheyenne sources say the couple had a child. But there is evidence that Custer was sterile and couldn’t have children.