[drzz]

Hello Sherman, Did you know that of 647 men with Custer, only 210 fought during the whole battle? 400 men, with Captain Benteen and Major Reno were detached for a front attack and scouting. William Taylor, private and survivor of the battle, wrote this: "Reno proved incompetent and Benteen showed his indifference – I will not use the uglier words that have often been in my mind. Both failed Custer and he had to fight it alone." (William Taylor, 02/20/1910) US general in chief Nelson A. Miles wrote in his autobiography in 1898 that Custer had been betrayed by both Benteen and Reno. The man responsible for the Reno Court of Inquiry, the only federal inquiry of the battle, agreed with Miles. See http://www.custerwest.org for the whole case

[Sherman Logan]

Custer was in charge. His plan failed, and he and all the men under his direct command at the time died.

That’s about as clear an example of poor military judgment as there can be.

Especially as he was attacking and chose the fight, it wasn’t one he was forced into.

Custer’s a very interesting guy. I’ve read a couple of books about him. But nobody ever accused of being prudent or careful. He was one of the very best Union cavalry officers, but only if you wanted a wild charge rather than cool, collected planning of an attack.

I find it very difficult to think that he would have tried such an attack against a similar number of Jeb Stuart’s men. To me this indicates that he underestimated the fighting ability of the Indians, and they killed him for it.