Posted on 06/25/2022 1:07:51 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
For generations, the mystery of what transpired at the Little Bighorn River on Sunday June 25th, 1876 has left both historians and amateur analysts miffed as to how a heavily decorated Civil War General who had the most astounding success (or luck) could have suffered to complete annihilating defeat at the hands of a stone-aged culture and 'uncivilized' force of 19th century barbarians.
Writers, authors, Military Veterans, even contemporary soldiers of the Boy General himself have not been able to completely grasp the outcome totally. This has been going on for generations. Lawrence Frost, E. Lisle Reedstrom, Cyrus Brady, President Theodore Roosevelt, Evan S. Connell, Robert Utley, and even Elizabeth Custer did their best to piece together the mystery of that infamous battle.
If you are looking for a good book on the battle - the best one I've ever read was written by Cyrus Brady written in 1904 and has multiple very controversial accounts of the battle from participants. It's a must have for any collector and LBH enthusiast.
https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Fights-Fighters-Bison-Book/dp/0803257430
Today, in memory of both sides of this highly contentious battle - I want to try to put together a concise timeline based on dozens of accounts - the source is here:
https://lbha.org/?p=45
And it's by far the most concise timeline I've ever seen in my years of reading/researching the battle.
What happened? Why didn't he retreat back towards Reno Hill after Yates' failed charge of the village? Was he cut-off before that point? Did he really think his ~ 600 troops could subdue a village as large as it was rumored to be? Why did he refuse the 4 companies of the 2nd Cavalry under Brisbin?
Brisbin called him an "Insufferable A$$" (Direct description by Major James Brisbin, 2nd Cavalry)
TIMELINE:
00:30am - 7th Cavalry breaks camp near Busby on a forced night march
02:50am - Lt. Varnum and his scouts arrive at the Crow's Nest Lookout
03:15am - Main column arrives at halt #1 on Davis Creek
03:40am - Two Crow scouts see Sioux Village for first time
04:00am - Varnum and scouts study the village in the valley of the Little Bighorn
05:00am - Varnum observes breakfast smoke at the halt #1 camp
05:20am - Varnum sends note to Custer who is still at halt #1
05:40am - Crow scouts observe two Sioux west of the Divide
06:20am - Varnum leads a sortie against the two Sioux
06:40am - Varnum loses sight of the two Sioux and returns to Crows Nest
07:10am - Crow scouts observe the two Sioux crossing the divide again
07:30am - Custer receives Varnum's note indicating the village has been spotted
08:00am - Custer and his personal scouts head toward the Crows Nest
08:45am - Command under Major Reno depart halt #1 camp and move toward the Crows Nest
09:00am - Custer's party arrives at the Crow's Nest and studies the valley
10:07am - Custer and scouts watched the command arrive at halt #2 camp on Davis creek for concealment
10:20am - Sgt. Curtis reports that he saw Cheyennes rummaging through the lost pack back near halt #1
10:30am - Custer and scouts are met by Capt. Tom Custer with this news
10:35am - Cheyennes spy on the 7th column at halt #2
10:50am - Officers call, Custer decides to attack.
11:45am - Command under Custer departs halt #2 camp down Davis Creek. The column is concealed by the nearby ravine about 1/4 mile east of the divide.
12:00pm - Command at halt #3; Custer assigns battalions.
12:12pm - Custer/Reno battalions left the divide half to descend to Reno creek. Benteen's battalion left the divide halt on an off-trail scout to the left.
12:32pm - Packtrain leaves divide on Custer's trail
13:20pm - Benteen's battalion arrives at upper No-Name Creek and turns down it. On the high ridge, Lt. Gibson observes the Little Bighorn valley empty. **He may not have been even looking at the LBH valley**
14:00pm - Custer-Reno battalions pass No-Name Creek. Scouts report Sioux in the LBH valley. Area is near the Lone Tepee.
14:15pm - Custer orders Reno to lead out at a trot past the Lone Tepee. Custer's battalion goes down the right side of Reno Creek.
14:17pm - Boston Custer trots ahead of the packtrain several miles back to catch up with Custer (He is the last poor soul to join the ill-fated battalion).
14:32pm - Benteen's battalion arrives at Reno Creek. They can see the packtrain 3/4 mile above. Boston Custer joins them.
14:37pm - Benteen's battalion reaches a location known as the morass to water his horses. Boston Custer trots on towards Custer.
14:43pm - Custer's battalion trots to the right of Reno. Scouts report Sioux alarming the village. Reno is ordered to charge by Lt. Cooke.
14:45pm - Boston Custer passes lone tepee
14:47pm - Reno's battalion crosses the left bank of Reno creek
14:51pm - Custer's battalion halts to water at North Fork
14:53pm - Reno's battalion crossed the to the left bank of the LBH river at ford A and waters horses then reforms. Sioux are observed far off ahead moving to attack.
14:55pm - Cooke leaves Reno to report to Custer
14:57pm - Benteen's battalion departs the morass as the packtrain arrives. Packtrain halts to water and close up.
15:01pm - Cook reports the Sioux are attacking Reno. Custer's battalion starts down right bank of the LBH river leaving Reno Creek
15:03pm - Reno's battalion starts charge down the left bank of the LBH River.
15:05pm - Reno's battalion observes Custer & scouts on the right bank bluff of the river
15:10pm - Pony captors leave Reno charge and go ahead of the column to capture Sioux herd.
15:12pm - Benteen's column walk past lone tepee
15:15pm - Sgt. Daniel Kanipe leaves for Capt. Benteen and the packtrain
15:17pm - Packtrain leaves the morass
15:18pm - Reno's battalion halts and forms skirmish line. Custer's battalion observed on the bluffs to the right and they disappear. Custer's column enters Cedar Coulee.
15:23pm - Custer's battalion arrives near bend of Cedar Coulee and halts
15:24pm - Custer and officers including Boyer leave to Weir Point
15:28pm - Custer's party arrives at Weir Point and see the village and Reno skirmishing
15:30pm - DeRudio supposedly sees Custer from the valley on Weir Point at this time
15:32pm - Packtrain passes Lone Tepee
15:33pm - Boston Custer passes Reno Hill. The Reno fight would have been visible for the next 5 minutes to him.
15:34pm - Trumpeter John Martin leaves Custer's battalion with the final message. Custer moves down towards Cedar Coulee
15:38pm - Martin meets Boston Custer at the head of Cedar Coulee
15:40pm - Martin observes Reno's battalion fighting in the timber.
15:41pm - Sgt. Kanipe meets Benteen's battalion with a verbal message from Custer
15:48pm - Packtrain meets Kanipe who had Custer's message
15:49pm - Boston Custer overtakes Custer's battalion at the mouth of Cedar Coulee with news that Reno has is retreating upstream and up the hills
15:56pm - Custer battalion starts down Medicine Tail Coulee
15:58pm - Benteen's battalion meets Trumpeter John Martin where they can hear firing.
16:00pm - Reno's battalion still in retreat across the LBH. Several scouts killed by this time.
16:04pm - Custer's battalion halted in Medicine Tail Coulee where Bouyer joins them
16:05pm - Herendeen's party is cut-off from Reno and hides in the timber along the LBH
16:06pm - Benteen observes Reno's men retreating for the first time
16:08pm - Yates' battalion (Companies F & E) separate down the Medicine Tail Coulee. Custer's battalion (Companies C, I, and L) move north out of the Coulee.
16:10pm - Reno's obliterated battalion assume Reno Hill and prepare defenses
16:15pm - Custer's battalion (C, I, L) arrive on Luce Ridge and halt in a defensive position
16:18pm - Yates' battalion (F & E) arrive at Ford B, light firing heard. Custer's battalion can see and hear the firing
16:20pm - Benteen reaches Reno Hill.
16:23pm - Yates' battalion arrives on the cutbank unopposed at Deep Coulee
16:27pm - Packtrain observes smoke several miles away. Custer's battalion leaves Luce Ridge and meets Yates downstream
16:30pm - Firing is first heard by Benteen & Reno's troops from Custer's troops
16:33pm - Yates' battalion is attacked on its flanks
16:38pm - Custer's battalion fired at Sioux on their left flank as they attempt to cross at Upper Deep Coulee
16:46pm - Yates' battalion on foot to reunion point. Custer joins Yates.
16:47pm - Reno returns from searching for Hodgson back on Reno Hill
16:52pm - Reno dispatches Lt. Hare to speed up ammunition mules
16:55pm - Cracking sounds of Custer's volleys prompts Capt. Weir to ask to move downstream.
17:05pm - Weir and D company depart Reno Hill in search of Custer. Heavy firing from Custer's battalion is notably diminished
17:10pm - Custer's last heavy firing heard from Reno Hill
17:22pm - Benteen departs Reno Hill with Companies H, K, and M to join Weir
17:25pm - Weir arrives at Weir Point and notes that Custer fight is over with just scattered firing three miles away
View from Weir Point:
17:47pm - Reno orders retreat with Sioux massing for an attack on Weir Point - they go back to Reno Hill. 1 loss in the retreat.
I saw a cool thing on, I think, the History Channel (back when it was about history) where a cavalry carbine still held by a Sioux
was tracked, through records, archaeology, and comparison of shell casings dug up on the battlefield
from the name of the cavalryman to whom it was issued,
to the place on the battlefield where he likely died,
to where it was taken and used by a Sioux on another part of the battlefield.
They showed the carbine, and how it had been decorated by the Sioux with brass nails and engravings.
Fascinating stuff.
👍
Yeah, but I don’t believe the real Frank Finkel survived LBH.
Anything for books these days though.
My brother went to it a few years ago. Only areas around the monuments and a few markers are mowed. At least according to the pics I saw. The battlefield too big to keep trimm d. I think having it as natural as possible brings it to life.
I’ve always been of the opinion that the theory about soft copper cartridge cases jamming and fatally slowing the soldiers’ rate of fire touches on a deciding factor (the same theory has been posited about the British annihilation at Isandlwana 3 years later, and I think it’s even more likely to have been the deciding factor in that case). The fact that clutches of bodies have been found further out from the main “last stand” area also suggests that something caused cohesion to break down significantly — maybe just the presence of a thousand Indians, but I think more likely something more panic-inducing would the inability to defend yourself with your weapon.
It’s usually over grown with prairie grass. The year of the battle that grass was very green.
There are controlled burns from time to time.
You need to go visit. You can see that battlefield, Rosebud battlefield & Pompey’s Pillar in one day if you like.
All have massive historical importance.
I’m definitely a fan of his tactics and his use of logistics.
He loved shotguns :)
I remember that presentation. It was done by several forensics experts who looked at shells, bones etc. - basically everything you stated. It was very well done.
IIRC, there was an unspent .45-70 rifle shell found on Last Stand Hill that an historian was holding at the end of the episode. He got a bit teary-eyed thinking about the young immigrant on Last Stand Hill who probably came off a boat from Germany or Ireland the year before and ended up there in that hell-hole and probably lost the bullet in a last ditch effort to load his gun one final time.
There’s some truth to that I think. Some weapons experts will refute that. I personally believe the single shot Springfield’s the Cavalry were issued were horrible for that type of warfare.
There was a battle in Colorado about 8 years before this one called Beecher’s Island. About 50 troops held off over 1,000 Sioux and Cheyenne in that battle and it was mostly because of the repeating rifles those troops were issued. Spencer Carbines had 7 round capacity.
The Army had field trials in 1872 or 1873 and went to the US Springfield single shot rifle .45-70. IMHO, that was a bad move.
Also note that prior to LBH, every single trooper carried his rifle ammo in pouches or sacks. After this battle, the battle belt was standardized or common since most troops fought on foot and couldn’t keep going back to the satchel on the horse.
A real reason they probably got overwhelmed besides numbers was that they lost all of their ammo when the horses were stampeded.
Spencer Carbines were used in the Civil War.
The 7th should’ve had them at LBH.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_repeating_rifle
I think Nash was the cartoonist who did the political cartoons decrying how poorly equipped and too small the Western army was. He claimed it was inadequate to defend the homesteading and other population.
Yes yes Nast not Nash, thank you!
I did not read the article. Did Custer win??
LOL!
“What happened? Why didn’t he retreat back towards Reno Hill after Yates’ failed charge of the village? Was he cut-off before that point? Did he really think his ~ 600 troops could subdue a village as large as it was rumored to be? Why did he refuse the 4 companies of the 2nd Cavalry under Brisbin?”
Probably pride.
I was driving to Billings once, and saw a sign on the interstate - Battle of Little Big Horn. So I pulled off thinking that it would be a long way off, stopped shortly at a small store and asked them about it. “Oh, it just over there.” I was astonished. So I went to the battlefield, open prairie, very hilly, with lots of tombstones. The snowflakes were as big as golf balls, and the wind cut through my clothes like a knife. I stayed only minutes. Couldn’t help thinking, if only I had visited as a teenager.
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