Custer at Little Bighorn.

[Darto]

Custer was not foolish nor seeking glory. "Custer stood poised to win against all the odds. His actions were far from foolish but based on a simple but far from glorious plan."

The odds: Custer had 366 well-armed cavalry. The Natives had about 2,000 warriors about half of which had no firearms at all. And those firearms ranged from primitive single shot derringers to 1866 Winchesters.

This video by the BBC used for their expert consultant Michael N. Donahue, for many years the National Parks ranger who usually gave the public presentations at the Bighorn Park. His great book Where the Rivers Ran Red is now out of print. But this video version is very close to the relevant chapters in his book.



Video

Was easy to watch, but hard to download to save. The only combination that allowed me to do this was the Windows PC Firefox browser and the FetchV Videos Downloader Firefox addon.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1x3smb

[Bryan Austin]

If there were only 2,000 and only 1,000 had rifles, then 10% carried 44's. Of all of the arms artifacts recovered, the 44 caliber's represented 27%. The Model 73' Springfield represented 54% of the arms used. 45 different types of firearms and only 371 individual firearms accounted for by the recovery of shells and bullets. Eventually the warriors took Custer's men's arms and used them against the cavalry, utilizing all 45 types against them. 410 guns were surrendered in 1877.

106 carried Henrys/66's
12 carried 44-40 73's

45-55 cases - 1,069 recovered
44 Rimfire cases - 222 recovered
44-40 cases - 25 recovered

Custer would be better off if there were the 3,000 estimated and 2,000 warriors.

With Reno getting hit hard at the river during the initial attack, the warriors broke off with enough men to pin down Reno at the Reno/Benteen defense position, 4 miles south of where the rest took care of Custer's men. Then the rest of the warriors went back to Reno and by this time, Benteen. Even their days were numbered if it had not been for Terry coming in the following day....and all done with 1,000 warriors and only a handful of rifles?

[Coffinmaker]

  Hey Everybody 

I get a real kick out of this subject.  Custers' fight has been refought so many times it seems impossible he lost??  Nah

When your caught completely in the open, and outnumber'd at least six to one, with insufficient ammunition, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

I find it also interesting, as pointed out by Bryan Austin, the OpFor were sufficiently armed with rifles to devastate Custer's command but could have done it with arrows.

Now, let's consider the outcome, had Custer brought his Gattlings with a half dozen Cason . . . . . .

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[St. George]

Custer graduated a year early, last of 34 cadets in the Class of 1861 from the United States Military Academy, just after the start of the Civil War.

Ordinarily, such a class rank would be a ticket to an obscure posting and mundane career, but Custer had the fortune to graduate just as the Civil War broke out.

Custer acquired a solid reputation during the Civil War.

His association with several important officers helped his career, as did his performance as an aggressive commander. By war's end, Custer was promoted to the temporary rank (brevet) of Major General. (At war's end, this was reduced to the permanent rank of Captain).

This would seem to some that he rose via 'association', but that was not the case - Custer distinguished himself by fearless, aggressive actions in some of the numerous cavalry engagements that started off the Gettysburg campaign, including Brandy Station and Aldie.

Though his style of battle was often claimed to be reckless or foolhardy,  military planning was always the basis of every Custer "dash".

As writer Marguerite Merrington explains - 'The Custer Story in Letters', "George Custer meticulously scouted every battlefield, gauged the enemy weak points and strengths, ascertained the best line of attack and only after he was satisfied was the 'Custer Dash' with a Michigan yell focused with complete surprise on the enemy in routing them every time." One of his greatest attributes during the Civil War was what Custer wrote of as "luck" and he needed it to survive some of these charges, and it was that 'luck' - coupled with solidly professional planning that brought him to prominence.

On February 1, 1866, Custer was mustered out of the volunteer service and returned to his permanent rank of Captain in the Regular Army, assigned to the 5th U.S. Cavalry.

In 1867, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the newly-formed 7th Cavalry - largely as the result of his benefactor, General Phillip Sheridan.

Years on the frontier followed - with skirmishes and small-scale battles that were nothing like those experienced during the late War, and with none of the attendant publicity which he had grown to love.

Fighting Indians in the West was far, far different, with their quick strikes and rapid retreats and unpredictability, and several other Officers would find them equally difficult to contend with - one lending his name to the 'Fetterman Massacre'...

Then came June 25, 1876...

Learning of a 'big village' along the Little Big Horn River, he set out to round up the Indians to take them to reservations.

Unbeknownst to his Crow Scouts,  the Hunkpapa Lakota holy man Sitting Bull had called together the largest ever gathering of plains Indians at Ash Creek, Montana (later moved to the Little Bighorn River) to discuss what to do about the whites.

It was this united encampment of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians that the 7th met at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Custer had 208 officers and men under his command, an additional 142 under Reno, just over a 100 under Benteen, 50 soldiers with Captain McDougall's rearguard, and 84 soldiers under Lieutenant Mathey with the pack train.

The Indians may have fielded over 3500 warriors - cocked, locked and ready to rock...

The rest, you know...

[Bryan Austin]

I think another thing to consider is that they were probably exhausted before they got to the fight. Custer's plan was to get out front and capture the fleeing non-combatants. It failed. Custer's men were split up over a four mile course.

200+ under Custer at Custer Battlefield
140+ under Reno...already getting plastered during the initial raid along the river
100 under Benteen who was late getting there.

200+ Custer fighting 4 miles northwest
240+ Reno/Benteen now pinned down 4 miles southeast

Custer further divided his troops and basically the warriors were able to keep them separated until they could no longer fight.

[Trailrider]

Custer has been accused of dividing his forces, which is true! But that was the tactical doctrine of the time. Crook did the same thing a week before at the Rosebud fight. The only thing that saved him was that he had about twice the number of men, including teamster, packers and Indian scouts (Shoshone and Crow).

So far as the number of firearms the Sioux/Cheyenne had, don't forget that they possessed and used high-trajectory missiles that could drop in behind the barricades of dead horses of the cavalry...bows and arrows!

Custer did ignore the tactical intelligence supplied by his Crow scouts. For that matter, so did Crook. And a lot of others, right up to and including right now!

[Coal Creek Griff]

You just need to watch "They Died With Their Boots On". Then you'll know what really happened. 

[Darto]

One strange incident during the civil war demonstrates Custer's charm. A southern officer was to be married and General Custer showed up at the wedding reception (yes he had been invited, he had been a friend of the groom before the war started). Dressed in his U.S. blues, he danced with the Southern belles and a good time was had by all and no hard feelings or negative incidents.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think most or any of the other high ranking Union officers would have been invited to a Confederate officer's wedding during the war.