Here we go:
Easy to say from the comfortable vantage point of history-and without arrows flying over your head. In point of fact when Custer viewed the disintegration of Reno's position he was only moments away from being routed himself. Events were dynamic, not static.
Also, which you conveniently ignored, Custer DID request Captain Benteen's forces to converge with his: "Come quickly, bring packs (ammunition). Come quickly!" I don't think there's much doubt about that order, do you? Benteen, for whatever reason, chose to ignore the order and instead to reinforce Reno's command. Apparently there were ill feelings between Benteen and Custer so draw your own conclusions.
Yes, just like all "history" we observe it from afar and try to gleen lessons from it. You are right, events are static and not dynamic......but Custer created a plan that played into a static, predictable opponent rather than the fluid or uncertain one he faced. And, yes, there were ill feelings between Benteen and Custer..........Benteen didn't trust him. By all accounts, Benteen was a straight-up person and conscientious fellow who disliked Custer from first sight as someone vain, callow, and self-serving. Custer sent that request only after watching Reno's command get slaughtered before his very eyes (without raising a finger in aid) and then fearing (knowing) the same was in store for him without some help as opposed to assessing Reno's failed assault, calling him back, and calling all units back to a safe point. Different. Benteen largely disregarded Custer's request and went to Reno's aid when he saw a poor decision wasting soldiers' lives in a pointless effort.......he saw what Custer should have but didn't and he acted upon it regardless of the retribution.
Name me ONE great military commander who wasn't an egoist.
That's a pretty ignorant criticism.
There are military commanders with egos.........and then there are egos with a military command. Patton was a egotistical SOB. But he did not let his sense of self-worth override his battlefield decisions. Patton wanted to be the first with the most but he did so with sound military judgement, a dose of reality, and good knowledge of his opponent. He would take risks, be "aggressive," and move quickly but always with knowledge and a sound assesment of the situation.
He had at his disposal several Gatling guns that might have evened up the odds, at least some, but refused to take them based on speed.
The Gatling Gun was primarily a defensive, point defense type of weapon. Custer did not believe he would be conducting a defensive campaign going after the Sioux. He wanted to move fast and felt the guns would slow him down and, with the view of moving fast and light in order to chase down a fast opponent, I can kind of see that line of thinking. But, by that time, the Gatling wasn't just an artillery-style weapon needing a mounted cart for transport.....it could be broken down into multiple pieces and packed on three horses for transport until needed. Three Gatlings would have done a Hell of a job of evening the odds on the Little Big Horn, but, I give Custer a minor pass here for not taking them along.
I tend to view the events at Little Big Horn in 1876 as a clash between two civilizations, two cultures, two worlds. Not as a conflict where one side was evil and the other good. That's too simple, even in this Poltically Correct age.
I can sort of feel you here. In that day and age, spreading "civilization" and forwardness was the job of the Western person to do...tame the natives, make use of the land, bring the modern world to it. To the Sioux, they were trying like Hell to preserve a way of like, a culture, and history. No different than we'd do today if invaded by an alien race as they were then. All in all I'm glad things worked out the way they did because I appreciate the world/society/culture of today.
People often forget that a week before Little Big Horn battle a second US detachment of foot soldiers was attacked by elements of the same Sioux/Commanche force south of that area by about 100 miles. The force suffered such heavy casualties they were forced to withdraw. That detachment was intended to support Custer's mounted party prior to engaging the Indians, but the warriors guessed the strategy and preempted it.
Ummm, maybe this should have given Custer and the higher command an idea that there might be a more menacing than anticipated Indian force present in the area. I know I would have given it some thought after an entire infantry troup is wiped out.
It's obvious you two would rather believe in the "politically correct" version of events than facts.
I don't know how I'm believing in the politicall correct version of history here? I am looking at historical events as happened and recorded and giving an honest, impartial assesment of them. More on this line........Bull Halsey damn near wrecked the invasion of the Phillipines with bad decisions and Rommel was a genius of modern military mobility. Nothing PC in either of those ideas.
There were no survivors of the Cavalry campaign against the Sioux at "Custer's Last Stand"...........not so much:
More often than not when one begins a study of “Custer’s Last Stand” one encounters the “official” story. You need only look to my page on the last stand to see that it is the one that I adopted. If one digs a little deeper one will encounter other versions. One of these other versions of the events of June 25, 1876 is from the scouts that were employed by Custer right up until the day that he died on Custer Hill. They go by the names “Goes Ahead”, “Hairy Moccasin”, “Curley”, “Half Yellow Face”, “White Swan”, and “White Man Runs Him”. They were the Crow Scouts that guided Custer to the Indian encampment that fateful day. On the eve of the battle they offended Custer by changing from their soldier garb into traditional Crow Warrior regalia. Their idea was to die like Crow Indians and not as White Men. Custer thought their attitude was defeatist and dismissed them. This saved their lives. Before departing they watched the battle from afar. Their account of what happened is different than the “official account”. It casts a shadow on the nobility of Custer and calls into question his mindset and the decisions he made that day.
My knowledge of their account comes from the writings of Edward S. Curtis as recorded in Herman J. Viola’s book LITTLE BIGHORN REMEMBERED:THE UNTOLD INDIAN STORY OF CUSTER’S LAST STAND, pages 152-163. This is a beautiful book and is recommended reading for any who would make even a casual study of June 25, 1876.
In August of 1907 Curtis was riding the Custer Battlefield with “White Man Runs Him”, “Goes Ahead”, and “Hairy Moccasin”. He was getting a tour and hearing from these eyewitnesses the way the battle transpired.
“White Man Runs Him” was the spokesman to Curtis. Standing on a ridge top known as the Crow’s Nest “White Man Runs Him” began his telling of the events. Early in the morning of June 25, 1876 he and Mitch Bouyer stood on the Crow’s Nest and saw evidence of the big Indian Village 15 miles away in the distance, smoke fires and grazing ponies. Custer’s Crow scouts warned Custer of the size of the Village and how they far outnumbered Custer’s command. The scouts told Custer that the village would not simply flee but would fight to protect their families. Custer’s overriding thought on this matter was the seventh cavalry was invincible.
Custer and the 7th rode on. He split his command as is known. He sent Benteen with three companies to scout the country to the left front and then rejoin. Custer took eight companies advanced straight ahead toward a tributary of the Little Bighorn now known as Reno Creek. When Custer got to Reno Creek there was much activity in the village. The tribes, now aware of the soldier’s presence, looked as if they might indeed be running away. Custer is reported to have said:
“If they are running away I shall send someone to head them off. They are getting foolish and I shall round them up.” Little Bighorn Remembered, p. 156
Custer ordered Reno to push ahead with three companies across the little bighorn and charge the indian village. Custer told Reno that he would back Reno with the whole outfit. Custer of course rode off to find a place to attack from the opposite direction thereby catching the village on two fronts. Custer mounted the ridge above Reno’s position and paused to wave his hat at Reno and his men. Custer then rode on for about a mile and a half to what is now known as Weir Peak. From here Custer could see the whole of the Indian encampment. The tribes were not running away. Custer’s Crow Scouts continued on and descended lower towards the river. The Indians now were aroused by Reno and some were beginning to dismantle tents. The Crow Scouts, “White Man Runs Him”, “Curley”, and “Hairy Moccasin” explained to Curtis that they fired several shots into the Indian encampment from this position. When fire was returned from the camp the scouts made their way back to Weir Point. Here now is the disturbing portion of their story. It is the part of the story that never made it into Curtis’ official publication in 1907 or into the account after 1876. Curtis was writing a multi volume work on the Plains Indians and Custer’s Last stand was to be a part of that. A good friend of Curtis at the time was President Theodore Roosevelt. It was he that urged Curtis to not include the Crow Scout’s accounting of the matter in his book. Curtis acquiesced but kept his notes. They were finally made available in the 1990’s.
The scouts say that when they returned from the Indian Village and got back to Weir point they met Custer. He and all his men were seated on the hill and watching the battle below. The Scouts and Custer and everybody could see that Reno and his men were already engaged with the Camp in the valley below. Reno halted his command at the southern edge of the village because he was encountering more and more warriors pouring from the village in his direction. Reno and his companies dismounted and formed a skirmish line.
The Scouts told Curtis that it looked to them like Reno needed help and quickly. At this point Reno was doing o.k. He was holding his own and taking few casualties. It will be remembered that after Reno’s scout is killed by a shot to the head that splattered brain matter all over Reno’s face Reno sounds a disorganized and hasty retreat that costs him many men. To the Scout’s thinking Custer should ride down there immediately and support Reno. “White Man Runs Him” became agitated and went up to Custer and told him that this is what Custer should do. “White Man Runs Him” relayed the exchange between him and Custer this way:
[White Man Runs Him] “I said, ‘Why don’t you cross the river and fight too?’ I scolded him. Custer replied ‘It is early yet and plenty of time. Let them fight. Our turn will come.’”
“White Man Runs Him” said to Curtis, “…all the Sioux charged upon Reno’s men and he retreated up the river on foot.” Curtis went on to write the rest of the story as told him by “White Man Runs Him”.
“”White Man Runs Him” turned along the bluffs to the South to see if any of Reno’s men…had crossed the river…He rode along the top of a ridge leading down towards the river. Five men ran out of the point of the ‘V’ formed by the brush and headed for the ridge on which “White Man Runs Him” sat on horseback…”White Man Runs Him” shot over the heads of these soldiers towards the pursuing Sioux. The five men clambered up to the crest of the ridge, some had no hats and some no trousers. “White Man Runs Him” conducted them back to Custer’s soldiers. He does not know what became of them after that. Custer was sitting on the high point when he went down to rescue the men, and he was still there when he returned.” Little Bighorn remembered, p. 158-59.
Only after Reno’s command was obliterated did Custer depart Weir Peak and make his way down. Custer moved northward and down towards the river. “White Man Runs Him” assumed that Custer was going to a place in the river where there was good crossing. Custer was not. About 200 yards from the River Custer came under fire from the camp. Some of Custer’s men returned fire. The rest moved to the right to a ridge known as Greasy Grass. It was at this point that Mitch Bouyer told the scouts what Custer had told him to tell them. Bouyer in friendlier terms than Custer intended told the Scouts that they had done their job and could go home. The Scouts returned to Weir Peak. There they met the survivors of Reno’s command and Benteen who had joined Reno. These had left their position upon hearing shots in Custer’s direction and made their advance to Weir Peak to support Custer. “White Man Runs Him” relates to Curtis what happened as the scouts got to Weir Peak:
“[We] looked back and saw Custer and his men moving North toward where he made his last stand. The Sioux were circling around him and his men. When we got near the other [Reno’s] soldiers, they shot at the Sioux, and made an opening, so we could join them. I said: ‘This is a dangerous point. They will shoot us from every side. Let us move up the river.’ Benteen gave the command to move. Then we moved back and saw Custer still fighting. We went toward a hill where there was a breastwork of mules [the present Reno-Benteen Battle site]…The soldiers could see the Sioux fighting Custer from the point where they turned around to go to the breastworks. After we were in the breastworks, the Sioux circled around us. We shot so hard the guns burned our hands, and we lay down to clean them among the cracker boxes. Towards evening, we three scouts left Benteen and started east for the Pine Bluffs.” Little Bighorn Remembered, p. 159-160.
This is the Scouts’ account. It is upside down from the “official” accounting. Here Reno is valiant and Custer an oaf. Here Custer is the weak link and by his actions doomed the campaign. It was thought by the Scouts that if Custer had supported Reno in the Valley then Custer and his men would have indeed won that day. What were the reasons for Custer’s actions that day? We may never know. The Indians had told him that if he ever broke his promise and attacked the tribes he would die. Was he succumbing to Strong Indian Medicine? After the battle his body was found unmolested except for his eardrums that were punctured with needles. The Indian explanation for this was that Custer did not listen.
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Custer sat on a hill as he watched Reno and his command being wiped out without so much as a qualm. Kind of like a show for him. When his Indian scouts, experienced Indian fighters themselves, implore him to ride to Reno's aid he gives them the wave of a hand and dismisses them from duty. They form back up eventually with Benteen's command and wind up watching the complete destruction of Custer's command from afar for recorded history. Custer ignored the destruction he saw visited up Reno and thought he, again by force of ego, would save the day against an opponent that was clearly bigger and stronger than he perceived and the info he was being given indicated. Oh, and his element of "surprise" was clearly gone by now but he did it anyway.
No bigger an incompetent Ass, in the history of modern notable American battles, was given command to result in a bigger disaster than George A. Custer. He is burning in Hell today for killing so many innocents of all sides for his stupidity.
