I have visited the actual battlefield several times in the past year. It is surprising to me that the battle only took a few hours. Custer kicked a hornets nest and paid for it
“I have visited the actual battlefield several times in the past year. It is surprising to me that the battle only took a few hours. Custer kicked a hornets nest and paid for it.”
I visited it several times over the years. What many people who have not studied the fight and visited the site don’t realize is how spread out the Custer field is (and that is not including the Reno/Benteen field up on the bluffs).
The Calhoun/Crittenden sector is the farthest away from Last Stand Hill, and southeast of it, strongly suggesting their command (Troop L) was deployed as a delaying force (as the bodies were found in somewhat organized skirmish line).
The Keogh sector (Keogh’s own Troop I and Harrington’s Troop C — whose normal commander was Capt. Tom Custer, but he was with the headquarters group and ended up on Last Stand Hill) was northwest of Calhoun/Crittenden, positioned in a swale on the far side of Battlefield Ridge in reserve.
Yates Troop F and Smith’s Troop E were northwest of Keogh, and were with the headquarters group on Last Stand Hill, but were deployed from there as needed.
Calhoun/Crittenden were the first to fall, and as they were over-run the Indians converged on Keogh’s group in the swale. Cavalry survivors from the Keogh group headed northwest to join up with Custer and troopers on Last Stand Hill, many being killed along the way.
Yates’ and Smith’s troops, returning from quick deployments to the west and northwest, converged on Last Stand Hill.
Some 29 troopers, mostly of Smith’s Troop E, made a move to the west, towards the river, but were killed before they got near it. Yates’ Troop F, and the Custer headquarters group, and survivors from the other groups, were all killed on Last Stand Hill.
I’ve studied this battle religiously since I was a kid when I read the Quentin Reynolds book. From there I read Graham’s “Custer Myth,” and that got me going in earnest: I was hooked. Since then, I’ve read countless books, articles, studies, reports, etc. on the fight. I personally have about fifty in my home library alone. I’m still reading about it, and I am now in my 70s.