Custer Big Horn Cavalry No Show

PILGRIMAGE TO CUSTER
by Jackie Jura, 2023-2024
(my commentary in blue)

(you can listen to articles using text-to-speech on your device)

"...To the soldiers on Custer Hill the appearance of the reinforcements
lined across the Weir Peaks would have been a welcome sight
and would not have been overlooked.
This was the advance of the regiment they had been watching and waiting for.
Then, after showing his force with 'guidons flying',
Captain Benteen ordered the abandonment of the Weir Peaks,
leaving Custer and his command to fend for themselves.
The Indian warriors would no longer face a threat
from the 7 companies under Major Reno and Benteen
and could now turn their full force
on the now dispersed 5 companies under Custer..."

When Reno insanely called off -- aborted -- the charge on the Indian village, he killed the tactic Custer was deploying of attacking the village from 3 fronts -- the south, center and north. If the charge had continued the Indians wouldn't have been able to access their pony herd (the dust of which had been spotted by Custer from the Crow's nest early that morning) and Reno's 150 men would have stampeded thru the awakening village -- Custer had "caught them napping" -- like at the Battle of Washita in 1868. Simultaneously Custer would have hit the village from the middle coming down the coulee and crossing the river. Instead Reno ran for the hills -- literally -- and the Indians stopped tomahawking Reno's men and turned to attack Custer. Here's my pics from the re-enactment:

As bad as it was that Reno aborted the baby, oops, I mean the cavalry charge, there was still life writhing in the gory surgical tray -- the baby, oops I mean the mission, could be saved IF Benteen's cavalry came to the rescue, with ammo, as in his written order from Custer, delivered by the bugler: "Benteen, Come On. Big Village. Be Quick. Bring Packs"

Afterall, coming to the rescue is what the cavalry was famous for. Many times, during the Civil War, Custer's cavalry had come to the rescue of infantry, and many times too, cavarly had come to the rescue of each other. The first evidence that the cavalry was on its way would be a dust cloud in the distance and the sound of the bugle blowing the Cavalry charge:

When I was a kid in the 50s and 60s we watched Cowboys & Indians shows on TV -- Bonanza, Lone Ranger (keemo-sabby), Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide and others. If you weren't at the TV when the show started, the opening music, like a bugle call, would grab our attention and six kids would come running from wherever in the house we'd been. Everyone knew the sound for "the cavalry is coming".

Custer in his magazine articles and 1874 book MY LIFE ON THE PLAINS gives examples of his 7th Cavalry coming to the rescue of each other, and below I've excerpted passages from my 3 favourite stories. This will help explain why Custer, at the Little Big Horn, kept looking hopefully in the distance for Benteen's and Reno's cavalry to come:

"...Here I will refer to an incident entirely personal which came very near costing me my life... We were then [1866] in a magnificent game country, buffaloes, antelope, and smaller game being in abundance on all sides of us. Although an ardent sportsman, I had never hunted the buffalo up to this time, consequently was exceedingly desirous of tasting of its excitement. I had several fine English greyhounds, whose speed I was anxious to test with that of the antelope, said to be -- which I believe -- the fleetest of animals. I was mounted on a fine large thoroughbred horse. Taking with me but one man, the chief bugler, and calling my dogs around me, I galloped ahead of the column as soon as it was daylight, for the purpose of having a chase after some antelope which could be seen grazing nearly 2 miles distant. That such a course was rashly imprudent I am ready to admit. A stirring gallop of a few minutes brought me near enough to the antelope, of which there were a dozen or more, to enable the dogs to catch sight of them. Then the chase began, the antelope running in a direction which took us away from the command...

"...It was evident that the antelope were in no danger of being caught by the dogs... I succeeded in calling them off, and was about to set out on my return to the column. The horse of the chief bugler, being a common-bred animal, failed early in the race and his rider wisely concluded to regain the command, so that I was alone. How far I had travelled from the troops I was trying to determine, when I discovered a large, dark-looking animal grazing nearly a mile distant. As yet I had never seen a wild buffalo, but I at once recognized this as not only a buffalo, but a very large one. Here was my opportunity. A ravine nearby would enable me to approach unseen until almost within pistol range of my game. Calling my dogs to follow me, I slowly pursued the course of the ravine, giving my horse opportunity to gather himself for the second run. When I emerged from the ravine I was still several hundred yards from the buffalo, which almost instantly discovered me and set off as fast as his legs would carry him. Had my horse been fresh the race would have been a short one, but the preceding long run had not been without effect. How long or how fast we flew in pursuit, the intense excitement of the chase prevented me from knowing. I only knew that even the greyhounds were left behind, until finally my good steed placed himself and me close alongside the game... My horse was above the average size, yet the buffalo towered even above him. I had carried my revolver in my hand from the moment the race bagan... Mile after mile was traversed in this way, until the rate and distance began to tell perceptibly on the bison, whose protruding tongue and labored breathing plainly betrayed his distress.

"Determined to end the chase and bring down my game, I placed the muzzle of the revolver close to the body of the buffalo, when, as if divining my intention, and feeling his inability to escape by flight, he suddenly determined to fight and at once wheeled, as only a buffalo can, to gore my horse. So sudden was this movement, and so sudden was the corresponding veering of my horse to avoid the attack, that to retain my control over him I hastily brought up my pistol hand to the assistance of the other. Unfortunately as I did so my finger, in the excitement of the occasion, pressed the trigger, discharged the pistol, and sent the fatal ball into the very brain of the noble animal I rode. Running at full speed he fell dead in the course of his leap. Quick as thought I disengaged myself from the stirrups and found myself whirling through the air over and beyond the head of my horse. My only thought, as I was describing this trajectory, and my first thought on reaching terra firma, was: 'What will the buffalo do with me'? Although at first inclined to rush upon me, my strange procedure seemed to astonish him. Either that or pity for the utter helplessness of my condition inclined him to alter his course and leave me alone to my own bitter reflections.

"In a moment the danger into which I had unluckily brought myself stood out in bold relief before me. Under ordinary circumstances the death of my horse would have been serious enough. I was strongly attached to him; had ridden him in battle during a portion of the late war; yet now his death, except in its consequences, was scarcely thought of. Here I was, alone in the heart of the Indian country, with warlike Indians known to be in the vicinity. I was not familiar with the country. How far I had travelled, or in what direction from the column, I was at a loss to know. In the excitement of the chase I had lost all reckoning. Indians were liable to pounce upon me at any moment. My command would not note my absence probably for hours. Two of my dogs overtook me, and with mute glances first at the dead steed, then at me, seemed to inquire the cause of this strange condition of affairs. Their instinct appeared to tell them that we were in misfortune. While I was deliberating what to do, the dogs became uneasy, whined piteously, and seemed eager to leave the spot. In this desire I sympathized with them, but whither should I go? I observed that their eyes were generally turned in one particular direction; this I accepted as my cue, and with one parting look at my horse, and grasping a revolver in each hand, I set out on my uncertain journey.

"As long as the body of my horse was visible above the horizon I kept referring to it as my guiding point, and in this way contrived to preserve my direction. This resource soon failed me, and I then had recourse to weeds, buffalo skulls, or any two objects I could find on my line of march. Constantly my eyes kept scanning the horizon, each moment expecting, and with reason too, to find myself discovered by Indians. I had travelled in this manner what seemed to me about 3 or 4 miles, when far ahead in the distance I saw a column of dust rising. A hasty examination soon convinced me that the dust was produced by one of 3 causes: white men, Indians or buffaloes. Two to one in my favor at any rate. Selecting a ravine where I could crawl away undiscovered should the approaching body prove to be Indians, I called my dogs to my side and concealed myself as well as I could to await developments. The object of my anxious solicitude was still several miles distant. Whatever it was, it was approaching in my direction, as was plainly discernible from the increasing columns of dust. Fortunately I had my field-glass slung across my shoulder, and if Indians I could discover them before they could possibly discover me. Soon I was able to see the heads of mounted men running in irregular order. This discovery shut out the probability of their being buffaloes, and simplified the question to white men or Indians. Never during the war did I scan an enemy's battery of approaching column with half the anxious care with which I watched the party then approaching me. For a long time nothing satisfactory could be determined, until my eye caught sight of an object which, high above the heads of the approaching riders, told me in unmistakable terms that friends were approaching.

"It was the cavalry guidon, and never was the sight of stars and stripes more welcome. My comrades were greatly surprised to find me seated on the ground alone and without my horse. A few words explained all. A detachment of my men, following my direction, found my horse and returned with the saddle and other equipments. Another horse, and Richard was himself again, plus a little valuable experience and minus a valuable horse..."

The story of the attack on the train and its results in connection with the [1867] expedition is thus told by Custer:... "It would be impossible for a considerable force, let alone a wagon train, to pass from our camp [at forks of Republican River] to Fort Wallace and not be seen by the Indian scouting parties. They had probably observed the departure of the train and escort at the time, and, divining the object which occasioned the sending of the wagons, would permit them to go to the fort unmolested, but would waylay them on their return in hope of obtaining the supplies they contained....

"Let us leave them for a time and join the wagon-train and its escort -- the latter numbering, all told, as before stated, 48 men under the immediate command of Lieutenant Robbins. Colonel Cook, whose special duty connected him with the train and its supplies, could also be relied upon for material assistance with the troops, in case of actual conflict with the enemy. Comstock, the favorite scout, a host to himself, was sent to guide the party to and from Fort Wallace. In addition to these were the teamsters, who could not be expected to do more than control their teams should the train be attacked.... The escort was moving over a beautiful level plateau. Not a mound or hillock disturbed the evenness of the surface for miles in either direction... Ravines of greater or less extent, though not perceptible at a glance, might have been discovered if searched for, extending almost to the trail over which the party was moving... These were the natural hiding-places of Indian war parties, waiting their opportunities to dash upon unsuspecting victims...

"...Arriving at the fort, no time was lost in loading up the wagons with fresh supplies, obtaining the mail intended for the command, and preparing to set out on the return to camp the following day. On the following morning Colonel Cook and Lieutenant Robbins began their return march. They had advanced one half the distance...without the slightest occurrence to disturb the monotony of their march, and had reached the point where, on passing before, Comstock had indulged in his prognostication regarding Indians; yet nothing had been seen to excite suspicion or alarm. Comstock always on the alert and with eyes as quick as those of an Indian, had been scanning the horizon in all directions. Suddenly he perceived, or thought he perceived, strange figures, resembling human heads, peering over the crest of a hill far away to the right. Hastily leveling his field-glass, he pronounced the strange figures, which were scarcely perceptible, to be neither more nor less than Indians... It was some time before the Indians perceived that they were discovered. Concealment then being no longer possible, they boldly rode to the crest and exposed themselves to full view. At first but 20 or 30 made their appearance; gradually their number became augmented, until about 100 warriors could be seen... The Indians continued to receive accessions to their numbers, the reinforcements coming from beyond the crest of the hill on which their presence was first discovered. Finally, seeming confident in their superior numbers, the warriors, all of whom were mounted, advanced leisurely down the slope leading in the direction of the train and its escort... It was clearly to be seen that the Indians were arrayed in full war costume, their faces, arms, and bodies painted in various colors, rendering their naturally repulsive appearance even more hideous... Nearly all were armed with carbines and one or 2 revolvers, while many in addition to these weapons carried the bow and arrow... They were astonished to perceive that between 600 to 700 warriors were bearing down upon them, and in a few minutes would undoubtedly commence the attack... Yet the entire escort, officers and men, entered upon their defence with a determination to sell their lives as dearly as possible...

"Colonel Cook formed the train in 2 parallel columns, leaving ample space between for the horses of the cavalry. Lieutenant Robbins then dismounted his men and prepared to fight on foot. The led horses, under charge of the 4th trooper, were placed between the 2 columns of wagons, and were thus in a measure protected from the assaults which the officers had every reason to believe would be made for their capture. The dismounted cavalrymen were thus formed in a regular circle enclosing the train and horses. Colonel Cook took command of one flank, Lieutenant Robbins of the other, while Comstock, who as well as the 2 officers, remained mounted, galloped from point to point wherever his presence was most valuable. These dispositions bieng perfected, the march was resumed in this order, and the attack of the savages calmly awaited... Suddenly, with a wild ringing war-whoop, the entire band of warriors bore down upon the train and its little party of defenders. On came the savages, filling the air with their terrible yells. Their first object, evidently was to stampede the horses and draught animals of the train; then, in the excitement and consternation which would follow, to massacre the escort and drivers... As the Indians were being driven back by the well-directed volley of the cavalrymen... The Indians withdrew to a point beyond the range of our carbines, and there seemed to engage in a parley. Comstock, who had closely watched every movement, remarked that 'There's no sich good look for us as to think them Injuns mean to give it up so. 600 red devils ain't agoin' to let 50 men stop them from getting at the coffee and sugar that is in these wagons. And they ain't agoin' to be satisfied until they get some of our scalps to pay for the bucks we popped out of their saddles a bit ago'.

"...The officers passed along the line of skirmishers -- for this in reality was all their line consisted of -- and cautioned the men against wasting their ammunition. It was yet early in the afternoon, and should the conflict be prolonged until night, there was great danger of exhausting the supply of ammunition... The Indians gradually contracted their circle, although maintaining the full speed of their ponies, until sufficiently close to open fire upon the soldiers... They rode nearer and fought with greater impetuosity. Forced now to defend themselves to the uttermost, the cavalrymen opened fire from their carbines, with most gratifying results... At no time were the Indians able to force the train and its escort to come to a halt. The march was continued at an uninterrupted gait... The attack of the Indians, aggravated by their losses in warriors and ponies, as many of the latter had been shot down, was continued for 3 hours. The supply of ammunition of the cavalry was running low...

"If the Indians should maintain the fight much longer, there was serious ground for apprehension regarding the limited supply of ammunition. If only night or reinforcements would come! It was the prayerful hope of those who contended so gallantly against such heavy odds. Night was still too far off to promise much encouragement; while as to reinforcements, their coming would be purely accidental -- at least so argued those most interested in their arrival. Yet reinforcements were at that moment striving to reach them.

"Comrades were in the saddle and spurring forward to their relief. The Indians...had posted some of their keen-eyed warriors on the high lines of bluffs which ran almost parallel to the trail over which the combatants moved. From these bluffs not only a good view of the fight could be obtained, but the country for miles in either direction was spread out beneath them, and enabled the scouts to discern the approach of any hostile party which might be advancing... The warriors on the lookout were not long in discovering something which occasioned them no little anxiety... That which they saw was as yet but a faint dark line on the surface of the plain, almost against the horizon. So faint was it that no one but an Indian or practiced frontiersman would have observed it. It was fully 10 miles from them and directly in their line of march... By close watching, the long faint lines could be seen moving along; as if creeping stealthily upon an unconscious foe. Slowly it assumed a more definite shape, until what appeared to be a mere stationary dark line drawn upon the green surface of the plain, developed itself to the searching eyes of the red man into a column of cavalry moving at a rapid gait toward the very point they were then occupying... Unwilling to incur this new risk, and seeing no prospect of overcoming their present adversaries by a sudden or combined dash, the chiefs decided to withdraw from the attack, and make their escape while the advantage was yet in their favor. The surprise of the cavalrymen may be imagined at seeing the Indians, after pouring a shower of bullets and arrows into the train, withdraw to the bluffs, and immdediately after continue their retreat until lost to view...

"After the Indians had withdrawn and left the cavalrymen masters of the field, our wounded, of whom there were comparatively few, received every possible care and attention... In this manner nearly an hour had been whiled away, when far in the distance, in their immediate front, fresh cause for anxiety was discovered. At first the general opinion was that it was the Indians again, determined to contest their progress. Field-glasses were again called into requisition, and revealed, not Indians, but the familiar blue blouses of the cavalry. Never was the sight so welcome. The next moment Colonel Cook, with Comstock and a few troopers, applied spurs to their horses and were soon dashing forward to meet their comrades..."

"...On August 4, 1873 Custer, with A and B troops under command of Myles Moylan, was scouting west of the main column at Honsinger Bluff, 7 miles west of the juncture of the Tongue and Yellowstone Rivers. Tom Custer and James Calhoun were also along, and the group totaled around 100 men. It was a hot, sunny day, the temperature over 95 degrees. The day was uneventful, and after finding a suitable camp for the column on the floodplain of the Yellowstone with plenty of wood, Custer and his men relaxed, eating, napping, fishing, and grazing their horses. After noon, Custer's pickets spied 6 Indians approaching. Custer was napping under a tree and awoke to the shout of "Indians! Indians!" followed by gunfire. Custer ordered his men to mount, and he, Calhoun, and an orderly immediately gave chase, with Tom Custer following with a platoon of horsemen. Moylan then began to come up with the rest. The Indians headed for a wooded area 2 miles west of where Custer had camped. But they were not fleeing very vigorously, and George sensed a trick. Custer stopped the pursuit, and the fleeing Indians paused. Then over 250 mounted warriors broke from the woods, charging toward the cavalrymen. Indian scouts had spotted Custer's men earlier in the morning, and Hunkpapa Sioux from Sitting Bull's encampment of 400 to 500 lodges, west near Locke Bluff, had gathered in the woods for battle...

"...Tom Custer formed a skirmish line and opened up on the charging as George and the other two raced back. This slowed the Indian advance, giving time for the command to set up a defense in the woods where they had been resting. The dismounted cavalrymen formed an arc along a former streambed and opened fire with the Indians at 400 yards. The Indians stopped and began exchanging fire with the troopers, to little effect on either side. The Indian ambush had failed, but they had come to fight, and they sought various ways to break Custer's defense...

"The battle became an exchange of potshots that wore on for hours. Custer hunkered down, waiting for the advancing column to respond to the sound of the fight... Colonel Stanley had heard the firing... Stanley sent the rest of the cavalry forward... Meanwhile, Custer was in a difficult situation. He had been fighting for three hours, and ammunition was beginning to run low. Each man carried 100 rounds, and they had exhausted most of their supply. Custer did not even know if relief from Stanley was coming. The Indians maintained "a perfect skirmish line throughout evincing for them a very extraordinary control and discipline". But eventually the Indian's discipline began to break down. The reason became apparent to the cavalrymen as they noticed a huge dust cloud behind the hills to their right, evidence of the relief column. As four squadrons of cavalry galloped into view, it was, George said, "time to mount our steeds and force our enemies to seek safety in flight, or to battle on more even terms". He ordered his men to mount, then without pause charged the Indians. The warriors broke and fled upriver. By the time the relief column arrived, the battle was over. Custer had won the field and suffered only a few men wounded..."

As those above three examples show, the entire cavalry regiment always divided its forces into company battalions -- as did Custer at Little Big Horn. The army never put all its eggs in one basket -- each battalion had its own responsibilites and was ready for backup and support if called upon "to go to the sound of the guns". It never ceases to amaze me that there's controversy about how it is that Custer and his 5 companies were annihilated while 7 companies stood at ease on a hill listening to the sound of the guns and watching the big dust cloud forming 3 miles in the distance. I've stood on the top of the very hill -- Weir Peak -- where Benteen stood and waved the Stars & Stripes knowing it would be seen by Custer and interpreted as "the cavalry is coming". But that was false hope and Benteen knew it -- he had no intention of going to Custer's rescue as he rode down the slope and ordered his soldiers to turn around and go back to the hill where Reno was holed up, ranting insanely that Custer had abandoned them. In my judgement, Reno and Benteen should have been court-martialed and stood in front of a firing squad.

Riding in the horsepower we approached the highest hill just as Custer, then Weir, then Benteen would have. I climbed to the top and from there I could see Last Stand Hill where Custer and his men were "determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible" as Custer oft-times said about a fight. On Sunday, June 25th, 1876, Weir and Benteen, from this same place, saw the massive dust cloud and swarming images as the battle raged on. When I was there exactly 140 years later, on Sunday, June 25th, 2016, I could see the white memorial under which the remains of Custer's 220 soldiers, scouts and civilians are buried.

In the book detailing the 1879 Court of Inquiry held to determine the intent and actions of Reno and Benteen, which is described in my HOMAGE TO CUSTER AT LAST STAND chapter, the passage below poignantly conveys Custer's abandonment, as does the header at the top of the page, from the same source.

"...In an interview on record in the North Dakota Historical Records, Sitting Bull said of those on Custer Hill: 'As they stood waiting to be killed they were seen to look far away to the hills in all directions and we knew they were looking for the hidden soldiers in the hollows of the hills to come and help them'. Of course they did, and those soldiers would have been looking 'far away' with field glasses... On the Weir Peaks the soldiers gathered there, including Captain Benteen with his 'trusty binoculars' could observe the horses and guidons on Custer Hill with their view unobstructed by smoke and dust. A reasonable conclusion that on Custer Hill the officers there, watching the Weir Peaks for the anticipated advance, observed the gathering of soldiers on Weir Peaks. With the aid of field glasses each group of officers could certainly see the other group clearly. For those on Custer Hill the appearance of the soldiers on Weir Peaks signaled the much awaited advance of the regiment. If there was any doubt by those on Custer Hill that the regiment was indeed advancing, Captain Benteen thoughtfully dispelled it: 'We then showed our full force on the hills with guidons flying, that Custer might see us'. Captain Benteen also spoke of an incident with the guidon which, while much overlooked in significance, was possibly of extreme, if not decisive, importance. Captain Benteen also said: 'I planted a guidon there as a guide to our position to Custer'. Captain Benteen mentioned this incident on other occasions...."

In closing these chapters on what I consider to be an abortion of Custer's victory, I once again lean on Taylor's words because, as in the title of his book, he was there with Custer from the beginning to the end of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

"...Soon after five o'clock on the morning of the 28th of June, 1876, the remnant of our Regiment swung into the saddle... Our errand now was to seek our comrades who had died with Custer, and pay our last respects by a scant and hasty burial. After riding north perhaps a little over one and a half miles, we came to an elevation from which a part of the battlefield could be seen. A bleak, dreary place, where, aside from a little coarse grass, nothing grew but an abundance of wild sage and a variety of cactus called prickly pear. Over it there seemed to hang an atmosphere of sadness and desolation, and little wonder that there was, for from every body on that bloody field but a few hours before had gone forth in vain most anxious looks and prayers for our appearance, which would have meant so much, the salvation of many lives... Most of the bodies were on the slope of the ridge but there were quite a number scattered between the river and the ridge, and how white they looked at a distance, like little mounds of snow...

"...First-Sergeant John Ryan of M Troop, had charge of the detail that buried General Custer and his brother, Captain Thomas W Custer... Sergeant Ryan in whose company I served for four years, wrote to me: 'The body of General Custer although perfectly nude was not mutilated. He had been shot in 2 places, one bullet had entered his body on the right side and passed nearly but not quite through, the second bullet, and undoubtedly the fatal one, passed through his head entering close to the right ear and coming out near the left ear. Under his body was found four or five brass cartridge shells which, with a lock of his hair, was afterwards sent to his widow...

"It has always seemed rather strange to me that the remains of General Custer were not brought along with the wounded and shipped with them on the steamer Far West, to Fort Lincoln. There was plenty of salt and strong canvas to wrap the body in, and the steamer was but a few miles away. The Indians carried away many of their dead, why could not the white man do as much for one as distinguished as General Custer?..."

Imagine how proud Custer -- one of the highest ranking and most accomplished officers of the Civil and Indian Wars -- would be of Private Taylor -- of the lowest rank -- for devoting his life to putting down in writing the truth so that future generations will know Custer did not die in vain. God had a witness there that great day of Custer's final review.

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~