Mark Kellogg (reporter)
Encyclopedia
Mark Kellogg was a newspaper
reporter killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
. Kellogg rode with George Armstrong Custer
during the battle and was evidently one of the first men killed by the Sioux
and Cheyenne
. His dispatches were the only press coverage of Custer and his men in the days leading up to the battle. As a newspaper stringer
whose reports were picked up around the country, Kellogg is considered the first Associated Press
correspondent
to die in the line of duty.
, Canada
, Kellogg was the third of ten children. Kellogg's family moved a number of times in his youth before they eventually settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin
. While there Kellogg learned to operate a telegraph and went to work for both the Northwestern Telegraph Company and the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.
He married Martha J. Robinson in 1861 and they had two daughters. During the years of the American Civil War
, Kellogg became the assistant editor for the La Cross Democrat newspaper. He also unsuccessfully ran for the office of city clerk in 1867 and played shortstop on one of the town's baseball
teams.
In 1867 Kellogg's wife died. Leaving his daughters to be raised by an aunt, Kellogg began drifting around the upper Midwest, working as a reporter and editorial assistant in places such as Council Bluffs, Iowa
, and Brainerd, Minnesota
. While living in Brainerd he ran for election to the Minnesota Legislature
, but was defeated. He also worked as a string correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch
, with his articles often published under the pen name
of "Frontier."
In the early 1870s, he moved to Bismarck, North Dakota
, where in 1873 he helped editor Clement A. Lounsberry found the Bismarck Tribune
. Even though Kellogg was only an editorial assistant for the paper, he substituted for Lounsberry as editor of the Tribune's second, third and fourth issues.
) would soon leave Fort Abraham Lincoln
for the Montana Territory
, he agreed to accompany Custer and provide news coverage. However, at the last minute Lounsberry's wife fell ill, so the editor asked Kellogg to take his place. Lounsberry expected Kellogg would cover nothing more than a sensational military victory.
Kellogg sent three dispatches back to Lounsberry, the last one four days before the battle when they were near the mouth of the Rosebud River. His last dispatch read, "By the time this reaches you we would have met and fought the red devils, with what result remains to be seen. I go with Custer and will be at the death." Kellogg wasn't predicting his own death or Custer's defeat; instead, "at the death" is a phrase borrowed from fox hunting meaning "present at the kill" (viz., of the pursued).
Four days after that dispatch, the Battle of the Little Bighorn
was fought, resulting in the deaths of Custer and the 208 soldiers, scouts, and civilians riding with him, including Kellogg.
, whose men arrived at the battle on the second day and also helped bury the dead, said he found Kellogg's body in a ravine where a number of men from Company E died. Kellogg's body was scalped
and missing an ear; he was identified by the boots he wore.
When Clement Lounsberry learned of the defeat of Custer's force and Kellogg's death, he "worked tirelessly throughout the night" to produce a special edition of The Bismarck Tribune. Published on July 6, 1876, the article was the battle's first full account. Lounsberry also telegraphed the news, including Kellogg's correspondence, to a number of eastern newspapers, including The New York Herald. Two letters written by Kellogg were published posthumously by the Herald on July 11, 1876.
As a newspaper stringer
whose reports were picked up around the country, Kellogg is considered the first Associated Press
correspondent to die in the line of duty.
Some of Kellogg's diary and notes survived the battle and these, along with his news accounts, are one of the primary historical sources for information on the days preceding the battle. His notes are now in the possession of the North Dakota State Historical Society. His satchel, pencil, and eyeglasses are on display in the Newseum
in Washington, DC.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
reporter killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. Kellogg rode with George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
during the battle and was evidently one of the first men killed by the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
. His dispatches were the only press coverage of Custer and his men in the days leading up to the battle. As a newspaper stringer
Stringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....
whose reports were picked up around the country, Kellogg is considered the first Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
to die in the line of duty.
Life
Born Marcus Henry Kellogg on March 31, 1831, in Brighton, OntarioBrighton, Ontario
Brighton is a town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and west of Kingston. It is intersected by both Highway 401 and the former Highway 2. It is on the West end of the Bay of Quinte on the entrance of the Murray Canal....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Kellogg was the third of ten children. Kellogg's family moved a number of times in his youth before they eventually settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...
. While there Kellogg learned to operate a telegraph and went to work for both the Northwestern Telegraph Company and the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.
He married Martha J. Robinson in 1861 and they had two daughters. During the years of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Kellogg became the assistant editor for the La Cross Democrat newspaper. He also unsuccessfully ran for the office of city clerk in 1867 and played shortstop on one of the town's baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
teams.
In 1867 Kellogg's wife died. Leaving his daughters to be raised by an aunt, Kellogg began drifting around the upper Midwest, working as a reporter and editorial assistant in places such as Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
, and Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
. While living in Brainerd he ran for election to the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
, but was defeated. He also worked as a string correspondent for the St. Paul Dispatch
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the eastern metro region, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County,...
, with his articles often published under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of "Frontier."
In the early 1870s, he moved to Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 108,779...
, where in 1873 he helped editor Clement A. Lounsberry found the Bismarck Tribune
Bismarck Tribune
The Bismarck Tribune is a daily newspaper printed in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Tribune is the primary daily newspaper for south-central and southwest North Dakota. Its average daily circulation is 31,081 on Sundays and 27,620 on weekdays. One notable reporter for the paper was Mark H...
. Even though Kellogg was only an editorial assistant for the paper, he substituted for Lounsberry as editor of the Tribune's second, third and fourth issues.
Battle of the Little Bighorn
When Lounsberry learned that a military column (including the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment commanded by Lt. Col. George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
) would soon leave Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is located seven miles south of Mandan, North Dakota. The park is home to On-A-Slant Indian Village, the blockhouses and the Custer house...
for the Montana Territory
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
, he agreed to accompany Custer and provide news coverage. However, at the last minute Lounsberry's wife fell ill, so the editor asked Kellogg to take his place. Lounsberry expected Kellogg would cover nothing more than a sensational military victory.
Kellogg sent three dispatches back to Lounsberry, the last one four days before the battle when they were near the mouth of the Rosebud River. His last dispatch read, "By the time this reaches you we would have met and fought the red devils, with what result remains to be seen. I go with Custer and will be at the death." Kellogg wasn't predicting his own death or Custer's defeat; instead, "at the death" is a phrase borrowed from fox hunting meaning "present at the kill" (viz., of the pursued).
Four days after that dispatch, the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
was fought, resulting in the deaths of Custer and the 208 soldiers, scouts, and civilians riding with him, including Kellogg.
Aftermath
Colonel John GibbonJohn Gibbon
John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, whose men arrived at the battle on the second day and also helped bury the dead, said he found Kellogg's body in a ravine where a number of men from Company E died. Kellogg's body was scalped
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
and missing an ear; he was identified by the boots he wore.
When Clement Lounsberry learned of the defeat of Custer's force and Kellogg's death, he "worked tirelessly throughout the night" to produce a special edition of The Bismarck Tribune. Published on July 6, 1876, the article was the battle's first full account. Lounsberry also telegraphed the news, including Kellogg's correspondence, to a number of eastern newspapers, including The New York Herald. Two letters written by Kellogg were published posthumously by the Herald on July 11, 1876.
As a newspaper stringer
Stringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....
whose reports were picked up around the country, Kellogg is considered the first Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
correspondent to die in the line of duty.
Some of Kellogg's diary and notes survived the battle and these, along with his news accounts, are one of the primary historical sources for information on the days preceding the battle. His notes are now in the possession of the North Dakota State Historical Society. His satchel, pencil, and eyeglasses are on display in the Newseum
Newseum
The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. The seven-level, museum features 15 theaters and 14 galleries. The Newseum's Berlin Wall Gallery includes the largest display of sections of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany...
in Washington, DC.
See also
- Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
- George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
- Sitting BullSitting BullSitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
- Crazy HorseCrazy HorseCrazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
- Indian WarsIndian WarsAmerican Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
Further reading
- "Notes on the Little Big Horn Expedition Under General Custer, 1876," by Mark Kellogg, Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, v. 9 (1923).
- I Go With Custer: The Life & Death of Reporter Mark Kellogg by Sandy Barnard, AST Press, (1996). Includes a reprinting of Kellogg's diary.
- "Custer's 'Mysterious Mr. Kellogg' and the Diary of Mark Kellogg" by John C. Hixon, North Dakota History 17, no.3 (1950).
- "Colonel Custer's Copperhead: The Mysterious Mark Kellogg" by Lewis O. Saum, Montana: The Magazine of Western History Autumn, 1978: Volume 28, No. 4, published by the Montana Historical Society.
- "Mark Kellogg Telegraphed for Custer’s Rescue" by Oliver Knight (1960). Reprinted from North Dakota Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, Spring 1960.
- "The 'Custer Campaign Diary' of Mark Kellogg" by Elmo Scott WatsonElmo Scott WatsonElmo Scott Watson was an American journalist and college professor, whose longest educational stint was at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois...
, The Westerners Brand Book 1945-46, Chicago, (1947).