But regarding his death, according to Utley, Custer's battle plans were not unsound. He simply didn't achieve the coordinating effect he wanted from Reno and Benteen. And to be fair, all the previous, similar battle plans had worked. But this time "Custer's luck" ran out. Custer was always a big risk taker, and fortunate to survive the Civil War. But if Benteen (who hated Custer) had not been slow and Reno not retreated at the first sign of difficulty, Custer might have won that engagement.
“...He was interested in glory and money, and he achieved a measure of the first. ...”
He was “a man of his age”, so to speak. No less than a Phil Sheridan, or a William T. Sherman, or Nelson Bearcoat Miles. They were Americans first, and everything else second, and believed in expanding (and protecting) the borders of our nation to the best of their abilities.
“...Custer’s battle plans were not unsound...”
I read that he had two Gatlings available to him for use, but he left them behind, fearing they would slow him down.
And as for Reno and Benteen, yeah, they had no for each other OR for Custer. I get the impression, though, that even if both of their respective columns would have been able to get to him, all that would resulted would be a pile of MORE blue-clad bodies. There were one hell of a lot of Indian warriors there.
Would the Gatlings have been game-changers??? I don’t know; i think the indians were savvy enough by that time that they would simply targeted the crew-served weapons immediately and taken them out of the fight.
Who knows... one of the great “What Ifs” of American history...