Greasy Grass - Chapter Three

 

I invite you to stand atop the bluffs directly overlooking the Little Big Horn River, while  36 year old Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer watches Reno's troops form a skirmish line  across the valley floor. Sharing his binoculars is his brother, 31 year old Captain Thomas Ward Custer, commander of "C" company.  

Tom Custer had served in the Union infantry during most of the Civil War, transffering to the cavalry in 1865 to serve under his older brother. There, under his brother's proud eyes, Tom earned two Medals of Honor for bravery.

In fact, George Armstrong had become to depend on keeping his family so close they became known as "The Royal Family". Twenty-seven year old Boston Custer (above) had been too young to serve in the civil war, and George was unable to get him a spot in the post war army. So he hired Boston as a contractor, supposedly tending the pack animals which followed the seventh cavalry.

Henry Armstrong "Autie" Reed was George's nephew. At 18 years of age he never sought employment in the army, but was allowed to follow his famous uncle as a volunteer.  

Handsome 30 year old Lieutenant James Calhoun, "The Adonis of the Seventh" had married George's sister Margaret, and was now in command of company "C" of the 7th.

And finally there was James Calhoun's brother-in-law, 38 year old warrior Myles Moylan (above). He had fought in every major engagement of the civil war from Wilson's Creek to Gettysburg as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Cavalry. Then he was dismissed for being absent without leave while in Washington, D.C. 

Myles (above) promptly enlisted as private under an assumed name in the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry, being mustered out in 1865 with the rank of Major. The following January he re-enlisted under his own name as a private in the newly formed 7th Cavalry, and was quickly promoted to second lieutenant, and given command of Company "A", this day assigned to Major Reno's battalion. 

More distant members of the "Royal Family" were Lieutenant Edward Settle Godfrey (above), a Custer loyalist because he had been assigned to the 7th Cavalry since graduating West Point, and...

...Captain Thomas Benton Weir (above), once a family member in good standing. He had recently been distanced because of his addiction to alcohol and his over familiarity with Custer's wife, Libbie.    

Also with Custer this day was his 24 year old bugler and orderly,  John Martin (above), "a salty little Italian who had been a drummer boy with Garibaldi"  - born Giovanni Martino, an orphan in Sala Consilina, Italy.  

Following closely were three Crow scouts, Curley, Goes Ahead and Hairy Moccasin. 

Custer waved his hat to the men in the valley, and then turned away.  Mitch Boyar, the Frenchman and  Santee Sioux who was leader of the scouts,  asked Custer if he meant to help the soldiers below, but Custer dismisses the question. He said, "It is early yet and plenty of time. Let them fight. Our time will come.”  It would and soon.

After graduating as a second Lieutenant at the bottom of his 1860 West Point class, within three years George Armstrong Custer was promoted to Major General.  At 25 he was the youngest general in the Union Army.  He achieved this not by his intellectual ability, or intuitive tactical genius, or even inspired leadership of his subordinates,  but simply by being aggressive to the point of being fool-hardy-ness  

In the shrunken post war army, Custer was reduced in rank and appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the newly formed Seventh Cavalry at Fort Levenworth in Kansas. In the winter of 1867 he was arrested for abandoning his post to visit his wife Libbie (above), and given a two year suspension of rank. However he was called back early for a punitive winter campaign against the southern Cheyenne.

In the resulting " battle" or "massacre" on the Washita, perhaps 70 southern Cheyenne warriors were killed, as were many women and children. The elderly leader Black Kettle and his wife were driven into the icy river and shot in the back.  Six hundred and seventy-five Indian ponies were also killed to discourage any further Cheyenne raids, and some 53 women and children captives were used as human shields to protect Custer on his rapid retreat back to Kansas.         

During the engagement 20 troopers under 27 year old Major Joel Haworth Elliot (above), a good friend of Captain Fredrick Benteen's, were attacked by warriors from nearby villages, rushing to Black Kettle's defense.  Although it was later learned that Elliot and his entire command had been wiped out, Custer retreated without learning their fate.  Benteen, with a life long skill at hating,  blamed Custer for Elliot's death for the rest of his life.  

Ridding to the next high point in the ridge line,  bugler Martin saw "hundreds" of lodges in the valley floor, with "...squaws and children playing and a few dogs and ponies. The General seemed both surprised and glad, and said the Indians must be in their tents, asleep." Custer now waved his hat to his own command,  a few hundred yards further up the slope, shouting,  "Hurrah, boys, we've got them! We'll finish them up and then go home to our station."

After cantering another mile or so Custer pulled the command to a halt, at the head a big ravine or coulee leading down to the river. Custer called to Martin and told him  "Orderly, I want you to take a message to Colonel Benteen. Ride as fast as you can and tell him to hurry. Tell him it's a big village and I want him to be quick, and to bring the ammunition packs." 

Then before the private could pull away, Lieutenant Cooke told Martin, "Wait. I'll give you a message." He quickly scribbled in his small order book, ripped out the page, and handed it to Martin, telling him, "Now, orderly, ride as fast as you can to Colonel Benteen. Take the same trail we came down. If you have time and there is no danger come back. But otherwise stay with your company."  

Martin would later write, " My horse was pretty tired, but I started back as fast as I could go. The last I saw of the command they were going down into the ravine...Just before I got to the hill (where Custer had waved his hat)  I met Boston Custer. He was riding at a run...(he) shouted, "Where's the General?" and I answered pointing back of me, "Right behind that next ridge you'll find him." And he dashed on." 

"When I got up on the hill, I looked down...the last I saw of Reno's men they were fighting in the valley and the line was falling back..." Eventually, Martin reached the stream where Custer had turned to his left, toward the north. Here. at last, he spotted Captain Benteen. 

"As soon as I saw them coming I waved my hat to them and spurred my horse, but he couldn't go any faster....I saluted and handed the message to Colonel Benteen and then I told him what the General said, that it was a big village and to hurry. He said, "Where's the General now?" and I answered that the Indians we saw were running and I supposed that by this time he had charged through the village...."

"They gave me another horse and I joined my troop and rode on with them. The pack train was not very far behind them."  When Captain McDougal read the note from Custer he was angry. How did Custer expect him to "be quick" while leading 70 mules carrying heavy loads? As it was, Martin said, "..the mules were coming along, some of them walking, some trotting, and others running. We moved on faster than the packs could go, and soon they were out of sight, except that we could see their dust."

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