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BECKY’S TRIP Day Four

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That big sign says it all!
George Armstrong Custer, Lieutenant Colonel, 7th Cavalry Regiment
Sitting Bull
Medicine Man
Hunkpapa (Sioux) Tribe

Day Four:

We still hoped to see the Big Horn Mountains and with the weather forecast for Monday, September 30, being one of partly cloudy with some periods of sunshine, we decided to spend Sunday at the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument in Montana and the Fort Phil Kearney Historic Site in Wyoming. Although there were periods of intermittent rain, the weather was never a problem while we were at the famed site of Custer’s Last Stand where the Civil War hero and all 212 men, under his immediate command, were annihilated by the Sioux and Cheyenne forces under Sitting Bull, Gall and Crazy Horse.

The purpose of this article is to showcase the photos I took while at the site; not to go into great length about the battle. I have read extensively about this battle and actually wrote a term paper, in college, not just on this battle but what was called the Great Sioux War of 1876. Just a quick synopsis, however, for those who are interested. In 1876, the United States army was ordered to force hostile plains tribes onto reservations. A large group of Sioux and Northern Cheyenne members refused to surrender, so a three-pronged force, with General George Cooke coming up from the south, General Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbon moving down from the north, and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer advancing his 7th Cavalry from the east, were sent after them. Cooke’s force was stopped at the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17 and forced to retreat. Eight days later, Custer in, what some said, disobedience of direct orders, pursued and attacked a large hostile camp on the Little Big Horn River. Without Cooke’s force coming from the south, and with the Terry/Gibbon command still on the Yellowstone River, Custer’s lone regiment attacked a force of approximate division-size (estimates were 7,000 Native-Americans in the encampment with between 1,500-2000 warriors). To compound his error in attacking prematurely, Custer, in contrivance of military doctrine, made the mistake of ‘dividing his force in the face of a superior force’ so that the separate forces could not aid one another. In fact, the only time that I can ever remember reading about a successful use of that tactic was by Robert E. Lee during the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.

A replica of a Blockhouse like those used at western forts during the Indian Wars
A Tepee
There were four tepees and the blockhouse at the Custer Battlefield Trading Post

As we left our home, on the 29th of September, we headed east on I-90, getting on at the Zoo Avenue exit, 443. It was a little less than sixteen miles to the junction with I-94. We continued east on I-90 until we reached the city of Hardin where the Little Big Horn runs into the Bighorn River. About halfway there, at mile marker 476, we came to a rest area. It took a little over forty minutes to make this short dash to Hardin, the county seat of Bighorn County. I-90 takes a sharp turn due south just past Hardin, and in about twenty minutes we were pulling up to the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument just off exit 514 at Garryowen. This famed battlefield lays on the Crow Indian Reservation.                

We worked our way back, from the end of the line, the Reno-Benteen Battlefield, to the Custer Battlefield, which is where the Visitor Center and the Custer National Cemetery are located. By starting at the end, which is the beginning, you can understand how and why Custer managed to get into so much trouble. It is about three to four miles from where Reno and Benteen wound up fighting the hostiles to the place that Custer and his 212 men perished. The survivors could hear the sound of fighting but there was nothing they could do.

When you first enter the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, the Custer National Cemetery is on your right, then you come to the Visitor Center. There is a large parking area so on most occasions there should not be a problem, perhaps during the height of summer, but not in late September. That’s just one more reason why we advocate doing your Rocky Mountain travels in the “shoulder” season.

The Custer National Cemetary

By driving to the end of the road, and working back, you are, in effect, following the footsteps of those ill-fated men of yesteryear. There are two major sectors of this monument, and both have a substantial parking area. The first, the Custer Battlefield is where you enter. The other is the Reno-Benteen Battlefield, and it is the one at the far end of this hallowed ground. That is where we started. The road, basically, meanders from southeast to northwest. Major Marcus Reno, following his commander’s orders, crossed the Little Bighorn River, on June 25, 1876, to attack the Indian encampment from the south. Reno, with three troops/companies*, A, G and M, had about 140 men under his command. Captain Benteen, grudgingly followed his orders to make a “left oblique” march with his own H Troop as well as D and K Troops, approximately 110-115 soldiers in what I would term a wild goose chase. It was rather obvious from his actions and later comments, that Benteen felt that way, too. Meanwhile Colonel Custer, with five troops, 212 men, galloped north of the Little Bighorn River in an attempt to attack the village from the other side. He had no idea what he was facing. None of his direct command, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, survived.

*In military parlance, the term company vs. troop vs. battery are all interchangeable. A company was a group of soldiers (infantry) under the command of a lieutenant or captain. In the artillery, that group would be known as an artillery battery whereas in the cavalry it would be called a cavalry troop.

A broshure from the Battlefield. This shows the Battlefield Road (black line with the numbers) and the actual and projected routes of Custer’s forces as well as the Native Americans under Gall, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.

Custer, coming in from the southeast split his command into four parts. He sent Captain Benteen, with three troops of to the south on a reconnaissance, Major Reno was to take his three troops, cross the river and attack the Sioux encampment from the south, while Custer with five troops would march to the far end of the village and attack from the north side of the river. The twelfth company escorted the enormous pack train. His plan failed.

This is the kind of terrain that Custer and the 7th Cavalry had to deal with, rolling hills punctuated by areas of flat land near the rivers. Note the draws, called “coulees” leading down, from the bluffs, to the flat land beyond. There were three of these, in particular, that the forces under Gall and Crazy Horse used to encircle and destroy Custer’s battalion.

Reno, with his three troops and Indian scouts, about 150 men, opened the battle by crossing to the south-side of the Little Bighorn River and attacking the Indian encampment from the east. They were met by hundreds of enraged warriors, much as a cloud of hornets flying from a disturbed nest would attack a threat.

Reno’s first skirmish line; where the Battle of the Little Bighorn began.

There are seventeen tour stops on this ‘paved’ road. The last seven were in the Custer Battlefield, site where Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer met his fate. The first four points are at the end of the road, where the Battle of the Little Bighorn actually began. That is where we started our journey. Reno’s survivors from his mauling down in the Little Bighorn valley had retreated up this hill, where they were joined by Captain Benteen’s battalion and the pack train. They dug in, and for the next day and a half fought to survive until finally relieved by the combined force under General Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbon. From this spot, we could view the areas where Reno was hammered by Indian forces under famed warrior Gall. You can see the original skirmish line Reno’s men formed, in the valley, the spot where they retreated to the woods, for their second stand, in the “Timber Fight” and the long arduous retreat, first across the river and then up the bluffs to their final stand. Unlike Custer, however, these men, along with the timely arrival of Benteen and the pack train, were able to survive. There is the spot (number six) on the map, where Custer, according to some Crow scouts that survived, watched Major Reno while he was getting mauled. Number seven is known as Weir Point. Captain Weir and his troop had left, without orders, to ride to the aid of Custer’s battalion. This was as far as they got before overwhelming numbers of native warriors forced Weir to retreat. There might be a hidden motive in why Weir did this. He was one of the Custer clique and thus, while Reno and Benteen may have been in no hurry to ride to Custer (and what would probably have been certain death), Weir was not constrained by loyalty to his battalion commander, Captain Benteen. Within a mile, however, Weir came charging back with a swarm of Indians under the now combined command of Gall and Crazy Horse, who had sealed Custer’s fate. The battle on the right, Custer’s Last Stand, was now over. The Reno-Benteen Battle would now begin.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn began at about 3:00 p.m. on June 25, 1876 when Major Marcus Reno and his three companies were mauled by overwhelming forces in the valley several hundred yards short of the Indian village. The battle started as a cavalry charge, but Reno quickly discovered he would have no chance and formed a dismounted skirmish line at this spot, on the other side of modern-day I-90.
Reno’s first skirmish line, the start of the battle, was just beyond where the interstate is (in the center toward the top of the photo, you can see where the two roads form a cross and Garryowen, the red building is to the right). The battle began on the other side of the interstate and quickly fell apart for Reno and his battalion. They retreated to those woods between the first battle and the bluffs we are standing on. That was Reno’s second skirmish line and second battle.
After being flanked in the valley, Reno retreated to the timber on his right. He set up a second skirmish line, but it, too, failed to hold back the massive torrent of fired-up Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.
Major Reno suffered his largest casualties, perhaps as many as 30-40, as the men tried to cross the Little Bighorn River and retreat up this coulee to what became known as Reno Hill. In many cases Native Americans were able to ride up on individual soldiers as they tried to retreat. Good leadership was, to say the least, lacking, at this point.
Forced to retreat from the valley by overwhelming forces, Reno formed a second skirmish line in these woods. That failed, too.
After being pushed out of the timber, the battalion under Major Reno degenerated into a panic-stricken mob and retreated up these ravines to the bluff where they would make their stand.
Where Major Reno, Captain Benteen and the seven surviving troops made their stand. Notice the “Medal of Honor Point” in the upper right, or southwest point, of the marker. During the two-day battle, twenty-four members of the 7th Cavalry were awarded the Medal of Honor. Over half, fourteen, were for volunteering to go down to the river to retrieve water for their wounded comrades. Four soldiers, Sergeant George Geiger, Pvt. Charles Windolph, Saddler Otto Voit, and Blacksmith Henry Mechlin provided covering fire, while standing in the open and subject to enemy fire, for over twenty minutes. There have been 3,465 medals issued with approximately one in five being awarded posthumously. Compared to that stat, only two of these twenty-four brave men, failed to receive theirs while standing on their own two feet. To compare this remarkable number, consider the Battle of the Bulge during World War II composed well over 1,000,000 participants and lasted for 40 days, saw only twenty medals of honor awarded.

Many survivors at Reno Hill said that it was the commanding presence of a clear-headed Captain Benteen that enabled them to withstand the onslaught of Native Americans after the demise of Custer’s battalion. That, along with the additional ammunition from the pack train and the time to dig in and build rudimentary breastworks gave the remaining seven troops the ability to hold on until Colonel Gibbons and General Terry’s column arrived from the Yellowstone River.

The town of Garryowen (top center of photograph). Major Reno formed his first skirmish line a couple hundred yards to the left of this modern-day structure. That is where the Battle of the Little Bighorn began.
The town of Garryowen is that fort-like structure sitting just off I-90. This “Town Hall” houses a Conoco gas station/convenience store as well as a Subway sandwich shop. In addition, there is a “Trading Post” with souvenirs for sale and a private museum, the Custer Battlefield Museum, which primarily focuses on the battle.

As we followed (what is known as) Battlefield Road back to the Visitor Center, you can get a picture of just how this travesty happened. Custer’s forces were vastly outnumbered and too far away from each other to have provided assistance in case of trouble. Reno probably would have been wiped out if Benteen had not arrived when he did. As for Custer and the 212 men under his command, their fate was sealed the moment he moved away from Reno.

Last Stand Hill, as seen from the Custer National Cemetery. The tall obelisk is where Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer is reported to have died. Each one of those white markers is where the body of a member of the 7th Cavalry was found. Those markers are found all over the battlefield. Many members had been so badly mutilated that they could not be positively identified.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the actions of Major Reno and Captain Benteen. They still go on today. As far as Reno is concerned, he lived another 13 years after the battle. His final resting place is on this hallowed soil.
1st Sergeant Aquilla Coonrod was one of three headstones I found that belonged to Medal of Honor recipients. He did not receive his medal for actions at Little Bighorn, but later in 1876 and 1877 in future fights against Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
Walter S. Campbell, better known as author Stanley Vestal wrote many histories about famous figures of the western era.

After leaving the battlefield we visited Putt Thompson’s facility named “Custer Battlefield Trading Post. It is a very large building, bordered by four teepees and even has a replica of an army fort “blockhouse.” They have a huge collection of Plains Indian-related material, including a lot of reproductions of early Upper Missouri River-style material culture. I bought a couple of really nice t-shirts from them. They, also, have a café that is supposed to be good.

Custer might not have known how to fight Indians, but he sure had a catchy tune.
The Custer Battlefield Trading Post was across the street from the entrance to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
The Schmittou boys standing where Major Reno and Captain Benteen made their stand. Unlike Custer, they survived.
Becky and Doug. She looks a little cold.

These last two photos are images from inside the museum at the Little Bighorn Visitor Center.

These three Medals of Honor were awarded for action during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Private Pym was one of the fourteen that volunteered to retrieve water from the river below Reno Hill. Sergeant Windolph and Blacksmith Mechlin were two of the four that received theirs for providing covering fire for those retrieving water.
Weapons used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The rifle at the top was the Model 1873 “trapdoor” Springfield. This was the first breech–loading rifle adopted by the U.S. Army for use in the field. In my opinion, it was a piece of crap. The rifle would, quite often jam after only a few shots were fired. No one can say for certain weather this was a leading factor in Custer’s annihilation; all their weapons were retrieved by the Indians after the battle, but there are many accounts of that problem from Reno Hill. The 1866 Henry Repeating Rifle (3rd from top), nicknamed the “yellowboy”because of its brass frame, was a lever action rifle with a 16-round magazine. Although Custer and some of his officers had purchased these rifles, his men were stuck with the 1873 Springfields. While the vast majority of Custer’s men were hampered by the single-shot Springfields, Crazy Horse had built an elite force of around 200 warriors; most of them armed with the Henry. This famed war leader sealed the fate of Custer’s command when he led his men through the Indian village and attacked Custer from the right flank.

The local forecast for tomorrow, Monday (9/30/19) is calling for colder weather (high of 45), with intervals of clouds and sunshine. Hopefully, that will bode well in terms of fall foliage, visibility, and travel safety, for a circuit of the Big Horn Mountains. Roads in the Big Horns currently do not appear to have been heavily impacted by snowfall from this system’s southernmost tentacles, but poor visibility, due to overcast conditions, could still be the prevailing condition there.

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