Posted on 04/27/2007 9:23:05 AM PDT by drzz
Here is a video summarize of the conclusions of US Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles, commander of the entire US army in 1898, about his researchs on the legendary Battle of the Little Big Horn.
On June 25 1876, General Custer divided his forces (647 men) in three batallions to confront 1'500 Indian warriors. One was completely destroyed, it was Custer's. Two survived with 10% of casulaties, it was Major Reno's and Captain Benteen's batallions.
No Inquiry was asked after the disaster and, 131 years after the battle, there are still doubts about who was guilty, and who made mistakes. Custer is almost always depicted as the responsible of the disaster. But General Miles wrote a different story.
Watch the video.
Does Miles really refer to them as “battalions”. This was a cavalry regiment — more conventionally it would be divided into “squadrons”.
Hello
squadrons was used in the cavalry in 1880
Here is Lieutenant General Nelson A Miles’ record:
Miles was working as a crockery store clerk in Boston when the Civil War broke out. He entered the Union Army on September 9, 1861, as a volunteer and fought in many crucial battles. He became a lieutenant in the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry and was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 61st New York Volunteers on May 31, 1862. He was promoted to colonel after the Battle of Antietam. Several other battles he participated in included Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Appomattox Campaign. Wounded four times in battle, he received a brevet of brigadier general of volunteers and was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry, both in recognition for his actions at Chancellorsville. He was advanced to full rank on May 12, 1864, for the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, eventually becoming a major general of volunteers at age 26.
[edit] Indian Wars
In July 1866, Miles was appointed colonel in the Regular Army, and, in March 1869, became commander of the 5th U.S. Infantry. On June 30, 1868, he married Mary Hoyt Sherman (daughter of Hoyt Sherman, niece of William T. Sherman and John Sherman, granddaughter of Charles R. Sherman).
After the Civil War, Miles played a leading role in nearly every phase of the Army’s campaign against the tribes of the Great Plains. In 1874-1875, he was a field commander in the force that defeated the Kiowa, Comanche, and the Southern Cheyenne along the Red River. Between 1876 and 1877, he participated in the campaign that scoured the Northern Plains after Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s defeat at the Battle of Little Big Horn, forcing the Lakota and their allies onto reservations. In the winter of 1877, he drove his troops on a forced march across Montana and intercepted the Nez Perce band led by Chief Joseph that had defeated and/or eluded every unit sent against it over a 1,500 mile stretch from Oregon to the Canadian border. For the rest of Miles’ career, he quarreled with General Oliver O. Howard over the credit for Joseph’s capture.
In 1886, he replaced General George Crook as Army Commander against Geronimo in Arizona. Crook relied heavily on Apache scouts in his efforts to capture the Chiricahua leader, but Miles replaced them with white troops who eventually traveled 3,000 miles trailing Geronimo through the tortuous Sierra Madre Mountains. He finally succeeded in negotiating a surrender, under the terms of which Geronimo and his followers were exiled to confinement on a Florida reservation.
In 1894, Miles commanded the troops mobilized to put down the Pullman strike riots. He was named Commanding General of the U.S. Army in 1895, a post he held during the Spanish-American War. Miles commanded forces at Cuban sites such as Siboney, and after the surrender of Santiago de Cuba by the Spanish, he personally led the invasion of Puerto Rico, landing in Guánica. He served as the first head of the military government established on the island, acting as both head of the army of occupation and administrator of civil affairs. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant General in 1900 based on his performance in the war. Called a “brave peacock” by President Theodore Roosevelt, Miles retired from the service in 1903 when he reached retirement age. Upon his retirement, the office of Commanding General of the U.S. Army was abolished by an Act of Congress and the Army Chief of Staff system was introduced.
It’s a hit piece on Maj. Marcus Reno and Capt. William Benteen (Reno mostly). Yes, they made major mistakes during the engagement/campaign, but so did Custer.
The quotes supposedly from Indian participants are new to me (and I’ve studied this topic most of my life). They must come from interviews Gen. Miles had with participants. That’s the only conclusion I can reach. Most Indian accounts out there are individual accounts, and have to be read in that light. Otherwise they can be very confusing and misleading.
There are some other videos on the topic available through the link. Looks like a place to spend time at for Custer enthusiasts.
I’ve toyed with reestablishing my Little Big Horn website after a couple years offline. Maybe I’ll buy a GoDaddy domain and do that. I’ll have to get the maps finished, though. That’s been the biggest hangup.
Am I the only one who doesn’t “GAS” ??? one way or the other?
Lt. Col. Custer took a small command with breech loading single shot carbines and split his forces against an enemy with long range repeating rifles.
The 7th Cavalry was a sitting duck against a force which out numbered them, outranged them, and could fire faster.
Crazy Horse & Sitting Bull were responsible.............
The terms battalions and squadrons were largely interchangable during this period. These were temporary, tactical formations in any case. A regiment was led by three field grade officers: A Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major. These three could each lead a battalion/squadron when the occasion required. Most regiments in this period were vastly understrength and scattered about in small outposts manned by 1-3 companies from different regiments. The regiment was only rarely mustered together, one of these rare occasions being the Little Big Horn campaign.
Custer was actually the regiment’s Lieutenant Colonel, the nominal Colonel was assigned other duties and never actually served with the regiment. This was further complicated by the use of Brevet titles, usually the rank held during the Civil War. Custer was a Brevet Major General, but really a Lieutenant Colonel in the Regular Army. Many of his officers held similar Brevet ranks that they could use by courtesy.
A 45-70 carbine has a greater range than a 44-40 rifle. But I agree with your overall point. But the percentage of Indians who had 1866 to 1873lever guns is not known. Perhaps some of the Indian crack shots had Sharps rifles which would have been more accurate at long range than the cavalry carbines.
My favorite account of the battle from an eyewitness is Chief Low Dog’s version.
The star wars style text is very hard on the eyes.
There was an inquiry. It convened in Chicago, IL in early 1879. It was an inquiry into Maj. Marcus Reno's conduct during the battle (at his request). After extensive testimony he was exonerated from wrongdoing, although it also didn't find favor in his conduct. He left military service after a couple courts martial for behavior unbecoming an officer.
Reno definitely had a drinking problem (so did Capt. William Benteen, as well as many in the military at that time). Much of the animosity toward Reno stemmed from charges of his drinking before or during the engagement, although that was never proven.
We like General Miles.
Well, it's a misleading comment. They DID join the fight. In fact, Reno's wing was the one that initiated the engagement. But, once Reno's wing left the valley for the bluffs across the river, and Benteen's wing joined him, they did, indeed, fail to 'join the fight' that Custer specifically was engaged in. Once they moved toward the sound of guns, it was far too late. Gen. Miles' comment does stand up if applied to that particular situation.
Hello
about the Reno Court of Inquiry, which was made AFTER some people questioned Benteen and Reno, see:
Benteen is accused of moving slowly towards Custer despite the order to “come quick”, which is a true accusation.
oops, sorry !
Hello
That’s Frederick William Benteen, in fact
Yes, it’s hitting them both, and other evidence talk against both of them.
In fact, Indians had short range repeating rifles, which was not good for them, and most of them eventually used bows and arrows.
Indian casulaties remained high during the battle - the last researchs showed that 200 Indians were killed on the battlefield alone. It contradicts recent theories about Custer being routed easily.
See
http://custer.over-blog.com/article-10191993.html
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