A Distant Bugle — Roy Lewis

At fourteen years of age Carlo de Rudio fought in the war for independence of Italy, the Risorgimento. With the collapse of the revolution he was persuaded to join in at attempt to assassinate Emperor Louis Napoleon. When the attempt failed he was arrested, sentenced to death, then sent to Devil's Island.
The story of his escape from the brutal conditions of the French penal colony demonstrates that de Rudio was a survivor--and this was further demonstrated by his later career as an officer in the 7th Cavalry--and his escape from the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
In his 68th novel Roy Lewis tells the exciting, adventurous story of the life of a man who was successfully a patriot, an assassin, and finally a hero of Custer's Last Stand.