The FReeper Foxhole Lazy Sunday-The Court Martial of George Armstrong Custer - July 24th, 2005

http://www.leavenworth.army.mil/history/custer.htm ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The Court Martial of George Armstrong Custer




FORT LEAVENWORTH HISTORY

On 11 October 1867, at Fort Leavenworth, a court martial found Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, 7 th U.S. Cavalry guilty and sentenced him to suspension from rank and command for one year, and forfeiture of his pay for the same time.

Charges and Specifications preferred against Brevet Major General G. A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry

Charge first.

Absence without leave from his command.

Specification first.

In this, that he Brevet Major General G.A . Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, did at or near Fort Wallace, Kansas, on or about the 15th day of July 1867, absent himself from his command without proper authority, and proceed to Fort Harker, Kansas, a distance of about 275 miles, this at a time when his command was expected to be actively engaged against hostile Indians.

Charge second.

Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.

Specification first.

In this, that he, Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, immediately after the troops of his command had completed a long and exhausting march, and when the horses belonging thereto had not been rested, and were in an unfit condition for said service, did select a portion of such command consisting of three Commissioned officers, and about seventy-five men with their horses, and did set out upon and execute a rapid march from Fort Wallace, Kansas, to Fort Hays in the same state; the said march being on private business, and without proper authority or any urgency or demand of public business; and in so doing did seriously prejudice the public interest by overmarching and damaging the horses belonging to the said detachment of his command.

Specification second.

In this, that he, Brevet Major General G.A . Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, while executing an unauthorized journey on private business from Fort Wallace, Kansas to Fort Harker in the same state, did procure at Fort Hays in the same state, on or about the 17th July 1867, (two ambulances and) four mules belonging to the United States, and did use such (ambulances and) mules, for the conveyance of himself and part of his escort from said Fort Hays to Fort Harker in the aforesaid state.

Specification third.

In this, that he Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, when near Downer's Station in the state of Kansas, on or about the 16th day of July 1867, after having received information that a party of Indians had attacked a small party detached from his escort near said Station, did fail to take proper measures for the repulse of said Indians, or the defense or relief of said detachment; and further, after the return of such detached party of his command with report that two of their number had been killed, did neglect to take any measures to pursue such party of Indians, or recover or bury the bodies of his command that had been killed as aforesaid.

Additional Charges and Specifications preferred against Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, Brevet Major General U.S.A.

Charge

Conduct prejudicial to good order and Military discipline.

Specification first.

In this that Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, while en route commanding and marching a column of his regiment, six companies or thereabouts, strong, from the valley of the Platte River, to the valley of the Smoky Hill River, did, when ordering a party of three commissioned Officers and others of his Command in pursuit of supposed deserters who were then in view leaving camp, also order the said party to shoot the supposed deserters down dead, and bring none in alive. This on "Custer' Cavalry Column Trail," while traveling southward, about fifty miles southwest from Fort Sedgewick, Colorado, on or about the seventh day of July, 1867.

Specification second.

In this that Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, did order (the following named and designated Soldiers of his regiment, viz. Bugler Barney Tolliver, Company K., Private Charles Johnson, Company K., Private Alburger, Company D., and other) enlisted men of his command, to be shot down as supposed deserters, but without trial; and did thus cause three men to be severely wounded.

This on "Custer's Cavalry Column Trail," while traveling southward, between fifteen and forty miles South of Platt River, between fifty and seventy miles Southwest from Fort Sedgewick, Colorado, on or about the seventh day of July, 1867.

Specification third.

In this that Brevet Major General G.A . Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, after the following named and designated soldiers of his regiment, viz. Bugler Barney Tolliver, Company K., Private Charles Johnson, Company K., and Private Alburger, Company D., had been summarily shot down and severely wounded by order of him the said Custer, did, order and cause the said soldiers to be placed in a government wagon, and to be hauled eighteen miles, (and did then and there neglect and positively and persistently refuse to allow the said soldiers, to receive treatment and attention from the Acting Assistant Surgeon with his command or any other Medical or Surgical attendance whatsoever).

This on "Custer's Cavalry Column Trail," while traveling southward, between fifteen and forty miles south of Platt River, between fifty and seventy miles Southwest from Fort Sedgewick, Colorado, on or about the seventh day of July, 1867.

Specification fourth.

In this that Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, while commanding and marching a column of his regiment, six companies or thereabouts strong, did, on or about the seventh day of July 1867, at a point about fifteen miles South of Platt River, and about fifty miles southwest from Fort Sedgewick, Colorado, order and cause the summary shooting, as a supposed deserter, but without trial, of one Private Charles Johnson, Company K., 7th U.S. Infantry [sic], a soldier of his command; whereby he, the said Johnson, was so severely wounded that he soon after - to wit, on or about the 17th day of July 1867, at or near Fort Wallace, Kansas - did decease; he the said Custer thus causing the death of the said Johnson.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Findings

Of the 1st Specification 1st Charge - Guilty of the Specification, substituting the words "Fort Harker," for the words "Fort Riley," and the figures "200" for the figures "275."

Of the 1st Charge - Guilty. Of the 1st Specification of the 2nd Charge - Guilty.

Of the 2nd Specification of the 2nd Charge - Guilty of the Specification, substituting the words "Ft. Harker" for the words "Ft. Riley;" omitting the words "two ambulances and," and substituting the word "four" for the word "eight," and omitting the words "ambulances and," and attach no criminality thereto.

Of the 3rd Specification of the 2nd Charge - Guilty.

Of the 2nd Charge - Guilty.

Of the 1st Specification of the Additional Charge - Guilty.

Of the 2nd Specification of the Additional Charge - Guilty of the Specification omitting the words "the following named and designated soldiers of his Regiment, viz Bugler Barney Tolliver, Co.K, Private Charles Johnson, Co K, Private Alburger, Co. D. and other," and substituting the words "three" in place of the words "the said."

Of the third Specification of the Additional Charge the Court finds the facts as stated in the specification except the words "and did then and there neglect and positively and persistantly refuse to allow the said soldiers to receive any treatment or attention from the acting assistant Surgeon with his command, or any other medical or surgical attendance whatever," and attach no criminality thereto.

Of the forth Specification of the Additional Charge - Guilty.

Of the Additional Charge - Guilty.

In consequence the Court sentenced Brevet Major General G.A. Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, 7th U.S. Cavalry, to be suspended from rank and command for one year, and forfeit his pay for the same time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Members of the Court

Brevet Major General William Hoffman, Colonel Third U.S. Infantry
Brevet Major General John W. Davidson, Lieutenant Colonel Tenth U.S. Calvary (excused)
Brevet Major General Benjamin H. Grierson, Colonel Tenth U.S. Calvary
Brevet Brigadier General Pitcairn Morrison, Colonel U.S. Army Retired
Brevet Brigadier General Michael R. Morgan, Major Commissary of Subsistence
Brevet Brigadier General Franklin D. Callender, Lieutenant Colonel Ordnance Department
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C. English, Major Fifth U.S. Infantry
Brevet Major Henry Asbury, Captain, Ordnance Department
Brevet Major Stephen C. Lyford, Captain Ordnance Department
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Robert Chandler, Captain Thirteenth U.S. Infantry, Judge Advocate

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[Colonial Warrior]

Nice post anyway.

Most of us are still learning HTML too!

Thank you for your service to our Country!

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Thank you for the support.
I am trying to get it down. I am completing my degree and one of my classes requires posting assignments to a forum. I have been doing my best to drive the instructor nuts with my posts.

[Colonial Warrior]

Yup...I too remember those days.

EOD right?

Please pass these on to our guys...want to be sure all the terrorists have a nice day!! [grin!]

[snippy_about_it]

What is a Brevet promotion?

A brevet rank was an honorary promotion given to an officer (or occasionally, an enlisted man) in recognition of gallant conduct or other meritorious service. They served much the same purpose that medals play today (our modern system of medals did not exist at the time of the Civil War).

A brevet rank was almost meaningless in terms of real authority. For example, a major who was a brevet colonel collected the pay of a major, wore the uniform of a major, could not give orders to lieutenant colonels, and was only eligible for commands that normally fell to majors. But he was allowed to use the title of colonel in his correspondence.

In addition, there were some unusual circumstances where brevet rank carried authority. For instance, when a force consisted partly of Regular troops and partly of state militia, command would go to the officer with the highest brevet rank (who might neither be the highest ranking regular officer nor the highest ranking volunteer!).This came up during the Mexican War on some occasions, and seems to have been designed to allow Regular officers with brevets (implying experience) to assume command over higher-ranking militia officers who had neither experience nor brevets.

An officer could also claim his brevet rank when serving on court-martial duty. Since an officer cannot be tried by officers ranking lower than himself, using brevet ranks allowed more people to qualify as possible court members.

During the war itself, brevets were very difficult to get and were a sign of valor, but on March 13, 1865, the War Department gave one brevet and sometimes two to nearly every officer on duty with the army. This angered many officers and men, who saw it as trivializing the efforts of men who won brevets in combat. (J.L. Chamberlain mentions this in his memoirs, for instance.)

Like regular ranks, brevets were kept separately for the U.S. Volunteers and the U.S. Army. Thus one man could have four ranks: an actual Volunteer rank, a brevet Volunteer rank, an actual Regular rank, and a brevet Regular rank. Brevets in the Regular army were sometimes used to honor men who had already been brevetted Major General in the Volunteers and could not be brevetted again (in the Volunteers), as no brevet Lieutenant Generals were created during the war (Winfield Scott had been made Brevet Lieutenant General [of Regulars] during the Mexican War).

Brevet ranks were authorized for the Regular Army in the Articles of War of 1806; they were authorized for the US Volunteers on March 3, 1863. Partly as a result of dissatisfaction with the end-of-war brevet giveaway, brevet promotions were discontinued in 1869; although officers who had been given brevets before that date continued to use them. They were reinstated for the Spanish-American war and continued in use until after World War I.

The Confederate army did not award brevet promotions.

Sources:
Stephen Schmidt, James Epperson, and Justin Sanders
Brevet Promotions
US Civil War FAQ 2.8

Boatner's Civil War Dictionary

Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War

1806 Articles of War

Discussion of several Mexican War situations involving brevet ranks in The Mexican War 1846-1848 by K. Jack Bauer.

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Outstanding! thank you for the enlightenment.

[Colonial Warrior]

The Army has a similar policy today, called Frocking in which an officer is permitted to wear the rank of a higher grade.

All the privileges go with the frocking rank, but not the pay or benefits toward retirement.

Frocking is tightly controlled by the Department of Army. There are many conditions that must be met. For example, the officer to be frocked must be on a current promotion list, etc.

[USMCBOMBGUY]

The Marine Corps has the same frocking policy. I believe in addition to the requirements you mention you also have to hold a billet of the grade you are being frocked to, at least for the Marine Corps. It is also possible to be frocked in the enlisted grades in the Marine Corps, this is only done for First Sergeant and Sergeant Major though.

[U S Army EOD]

The system we had also began with an F. Which is the way it turned out for most USAR on active during Vietnam. The Army put out a magazine by the name of FOCUS and in the first issue they announced the reduction in force. I could not think of a more appropriate name for the magazine at that time.

[Colonial Warrior]

You are correct. Actually, there are several requirements you must meet.

Entering into a billet (position) requiring the higher rank is another of those requirements.

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Does the Army frock enlisted as well?

[Colonial Warrior]

I am not as familiar with the enlisted policies, so I can't say for sure. I'll try and find out.

[Peanut Gallery]

I was frocked.

[alfa6]

I was frocked.

I don't think that wearing hatching jackets is the same thing :-)

Regards

alfa6 :>}

[USMCBOMBGUY]

Here is our new Tool for RSPing Suicide Bombers.

[Iris7]

Thanks for the kitten image, made me laugh.

Custer for sure would not be my own first choice for a C.O. He has a reputation as a "difficult" man, shall we say. Very moody. Chain saw school of human relations.

You could never tell if he was going to want you to love him or to hate him. I think, in later life, he mostly tried to make you hate him.

My $.00002 worth, and mostly psychobabble.

As far as Little Big Horn goes, he made no reconnaissance that meant anything that I can see.

[Iris7]

Hi, Snippy,

"LOL. Remind you of you?"

Yeah, I think I am "projecting" a bit. The grandiose recklessness and extreme crankiness Custer showed reminds me of someone I know as well as I know anyone, I guess.

Interesting to try to get into his head. Think he was childish, but without the charm of the young. Don't think he was high command material, that's for sure!

[USMCBOMBGUY]

"Think he was childish, but without the charm of the young"
I think that is an accurate summary of Custer. I would add he didn't seem to place any value on the lives of his men.

[PzLdr]

Custer's belief that the Indians would flee the Little Big Horn village was common in the Army, and firmly believed by Generals Terry and Sheridan. The Indians had always fled in the past. In point of fact, the original plan for the 1876 campaign is a design to trap the Indians. [As a denote, Gibbon and Terry did NOT show up on the 26th, as planned. They arrived on the 27th,so if Custer had followed the letter of his orders, he would either have hit the same village , alone, 24 hours later, or he would have hit an empty village].

Custer attacked on the 25th because he believed the 7th had been spotted by the Indians. It had, but the Indians in question were returning to the reservation, and didn't raise the alarm. Custer didn't know this. He then changed his original plan to rest up and attack on the 26th, when he assumed Terry and Gibbon would be where they were supposed to be, and opted to attack on the 25th.

Custer's operational plan most resembles a reconnaissance in force, with Benteen to recon to the west, and block Indians fleeing that way, while Custer moved north on the eastern flank, and Reno attacked the village from the south.

One of the things that most fascinates me about the Little Big Horn is how both Reno and Benteen disobeyed their orders, and got away with it. Reno was ordered to charge the village. He stopped a quarter to a half mile away,before the Indians appeared in force; dismounted his command in an open field, leaving his left flank in the air, and reduced his combat strength by 20% [households]. He then fell back to a defensible position in some woods, until he panicked and fled[ retreat is too kind a word for Reno's actions] to Reno Hill.

Benteen was ordered to "come quick" [twice in the same written order] and to bring the ammo packs because Custer had found a "big village". Custer's nephew, Autie Reed, riding with Benteen, was able to catch up with, and die with, his uncle. Benteen, whose hatred of Custer was well known inside and outside of the 7th [shared by Reno], managed such a leisurely pace that Reno had already deployed on Reno Hill by the time Benteen got there, at which point Benteen joined his command with Reno's, and having no personal knowledge of the strength of the Indians, moved no further.

I read somewhere that the Army C& GS School used the Little Big Horn as a problem, feeding the students the same info Custer got in the same sequence he got it. Most of the students' solutions were the same actions Custer took. Try John Gray's book [ I believe it's called 'Custer's Last Battle' or campaign].

[PzLdr]

Custer was famous long before the Little Big Horn. He was the youngest Major General in the history of the US Army [24]. He stopped Stuart at Gettysburg, killed him at Yellow Tavern. His Civil War record was exceptional [Try "Custer Victorious"]. He conducted a successful winter campaign on the Plains in 1868, culminating in the Washita. He was a prolific writer of articles about the West and it's fauna.

[PzLdr]

Custer was famous long before the Little Big Horn. He was the youngest Major General in the history of the US Army [24]. He stopped Stuart at Gettysburg, killed him at Yellow Tavern. His Civil War record was exceptional [Try "Custer Victorious"]. He conducted a successful winter campaign on the Plains in 1868, culminating in the Washita. He was a prolific writer of articles about the West and it's fauna.