Battle of Little Bighorn

Lesson 7: War!

Passing in Review

The 7th Cavalry Company Flag

On June 22, the 7th Cavalry passed in review before Terry, Gibbon, and Custer. The regimental band had remained at the Powder River base so there was no stirring strains of “Garryowen” to spur these soldiers marching, or riding, into war. But several trumpets added a military measure to the scene.

The Regimental Standard

Swallow-tailed guidons flourished in the hot air. Dust rose as each company passed their Commanders. These troopers wore a variety of costumes. Slouch hats were seen, such as Custer himself wore. Some wore shirts of gray, others wore blue, with the regulation sky-blue trousers stuffed into cavalry boots.

“Each man carried a Springfield single-shot carbine and a Colt revolver, with 100 cartridges for the former and 24 for the latter.” No one carried a saber, an item of military equipment that many artists since July 25, 1876, has erroneously adorned these fighting men with in the oil and linseed portraits of The Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Custer’s command included “31 officers and 566 enlisted men, 35 Indian scouts (the Arikaras, four Sioux, and six Crows borrowed from Gibbon), and about a dozen packers, guides, and other civilian employees. Bringing up the rear, a train of pack-mules bore rations and forage for 15 days together with reserve carbine ammunition of 50 rounds per man.”

Lt. Col. George Custer

“Custer swelled with pride at the spectacle,” except for the mules that were breaking ranks and already throwing their packs. In his own costume, Custer was as flamboyant as usual. He wore his fringed buckskin jacket and trousers as well as knee-high troop boots. Of Civil War memory, he had on his scarlet cravat and broad-collared blue shirt. Topping it all, above his red-golden shorn locks was his wide-brimmed white hat. There were many, through out Custer’s career, who criticized the way he dressed. He must have truly been god-like to see, and why not! Why not do it in style? Besides, his wife Libbie liked it.

William Cook

But criticize, some would. But not all of them disdained Custer. Loyal to him were Captain Thomas Weir, and Lieutenant William Cooke, who was a Canadian-born regimental adjutant. Certainly his younger brothers, Tom and Boston, as well as nephew Harry Reed were enamored of their commander.

Capt. Frederick Benteen

The opposing team was led by Custer’s two senior officers, Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen. It was said that these two looked on Custer “with contempt or even loathing.” Reno had served well as a colonel in the Civil War. Now he no longer commanded much respect. Benteen, who in this instance was Captain of Company H, had been a lieutenant colonel in the Civil War. He was “lean, muscular, clean-shaven [Custer at this time had let his whiskers grow into a beard], and white-haired.” He was known to be fearless in combat but he returned compliments with an ill-tempered ridicule to most of the other officers. His ill feeling toward Custer “harbored a passionate hatred that soured his character for the rest of his life.”

General Terry’s Orders to Custer http://www.suite101.com/files/topics/176...

Internet link(s) for this section are:

Sitting Bull Biography http://littlebighorn.bravepages.com/biog... This is an extensive and informative article concerning one of the most noted Sioux of all times, Sitting Bull. There are also numerous photos here of this legendary medicine man and warrior.

The sources for this section are:

Ambrose, Stephen E. Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors. Random House, Inc. New York, 1996.

Shulman, Terry. Guns of the Little Bighorn. Wild West Magazine, 2002.

Utley, Robert M. Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 1962.

Utley, Robert M. Little Bighorn Battlefield: Official National Park Handbook. Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1994.

Topics for discussion:

George Armstrong Custer has repeatedly shown that he can be a stern military leader. For example, having deserters shot. Yet, at one time he, himself, deserted to be with his wife. He was also well noted for his capacity for pulling of high-spirited, and sometimes dangerous, pranks such as shooting over the head of his under brother Boston. Evidently, he never considered that one of his bullets could have gone astray and hit Boston or the boy’s horse. Custer had a third trait that surfaced often, and of course was in part the cause of his final demise—that of being insubordinate to his superiors. That is, disobeying orders, a situation he did not tolerate in others. In view of these conflicting traits, how do you feel about him being put in the position of leadership that he held?

Considering the well-known fact that Custer was killed during the Battle of the Little Bighorn after disobeying General Terry’s orders do you feel that Custer’s own superiors are in part to blame for the outcome of this famous western battle? If not, then why not? If so, to what degree do you feel that Custer’s superiors were to blame?

Bibliography:

Ambrose, Stephen E. Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors. Random House, Inc. New York, 1996.

Battle, Kemp. Hearts of Fire: Great Women of American Lore and Legend. Three Rivers Press, New York, 1997.

Bourke, John G. On the Border with Crook. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1891.

Connell, Evan S. Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn. North Point Press, San Francisco, 1984.

Crook, George. Martin F. Schmitt, Editor. General George Crook: His Autobiography. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1986.

Lazarus, Edward. Black Hills White Justice: The Sioux Nation Versus the United States, 1775 to the Present. Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.

Marquis, Thomas B. A Warrior Who Fought Custer. Midwest Company, Minneapolis, Minn. 1931.

Powell, Peter J. People of the Sacred Mountain: A History of the Northern Cheyenne Chiefs and Warrior Societies, 1830-1879. Harper and Row, New York, 1981, volume 2.

Utley, Robert M. Custer and the Great Controversy: The Origin and Development of a Legend. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 1962.

Utley, Robert M. Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana. Office of Publications National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 1969.

Utley, Robert M. Little Bighorn Battlefield: Official National Park Handbook. Division of Publications, National Park Service, 1994.

Utley, Robert M. The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1993.

White Bull, box 105, notebook 8, Campbell Collection: and quoted from Utley, Robert M. The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1993.

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