Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2021 17:38:05 GMT
In my view, Custer's decision to go see what is happening at Ford D is a fatal mistake. Now, all his mistakes since seperating from Reno were fatal, but my COA w
could have been to find the best available ground to defend on with the intention of holding until relieved by Terry (not likely) or Reno/Benteen (possible, but not likely). It would have been a forlorn hope, but maybe it was just time for George to command one.
Having said, all that, what facts do we know?
Facts bearing on the problem:
1. Godfrey states Custer retained command of the five company battalion near the divide and left TC in command of C. It is highly likely he retained this task organization for the rest of the battle.
2. It is possible Custer divided the battalion later in the battle.
3. Departing from Fort Lincoln, Custer commanded the Regiment, Reno and Benteen commanded two "wings', each with 6 companies divided into four battalions of 3 companies each.
4. At least E, F, and HQ went to vicinity of Ford D.
5. E, F, and HQ were destroyed on and around Custer Hill.
6. George was found on Custer Hill with a chest wound and a head wound. The Chest wound may have been mortal, but not immediate.
7. Tom was found near George severely mutilated so cause of death is not known.
8. C, I, and L are destroyed generally on and around Calhoun Hill, with some bodies being found intermixed and in a path leading to/from Custer Hill. These bodies could be heading toward or away from Calhoun Hill.
9. The trail of bodies to/from Custer Hill to Calhoun Hill could be a result of units fighting forward or falling back.
10. There have been no soldier bodies discovered between Ford D and Custer Hill and it may be impossible to determine what company they belonged to, even if there are some. (Or is this really an assumption?) But there are artifacts showing evidence of an engagement, but again, no way to tell what companies they were from.
11. Custer has no way of knowing if Benteen is on the way or not. He may have been able to look back and see dust clouds giving him an indicator of what might happen, but no real knowledge.
Not sure where to put these observations/speculations
Custer was shot in chest and head either at Ford D, Custer Hill, or both. Chest wound may not have been immediately fatal. If so, he likely would have been brought back. This could explain the head wound, perhaps inflicted later, even by his own hand.
TC may have been killed wounded at either place, but there is no way of knowing. Either way, he may have been brought back.
Whether other members of the command would have been retrieved is questionable in my view. Reno made little effort to recover dead/wounded and Edgerly abandoned one member of his troop on the fall back from Wier Point. After the battle, only officer's graves were makred, however poorly.
This leads to three scnarios and we can speculate as to why George and Tom were found where they were.
Assumption 1: Custer took the entire battalion to vicinity Ford D.
Discussion: There is no sound tactical reason to leave 3/5ths of the combat power behind and no need to split the battalion. Whatever he is going to do, he needs to keep what is left of his command together. All five companies move to Ford D and then return to the Custer Hill - Calhoun Hill complex. TC remains with his company. Perhaps C is the lead company and if the battalion deployes into line, Custer decides to keep the HQ near C. As the battalion moves toward the River, they are engaged and either George or Tom are wounded. If George, then Yates or Keogh(I forget who is senior) assume command, decide to retreat, and George is carried back. There is NO REASON for Tom to give up command to Harrington because his brother is wounded, but if the HQ was close to C, then it is logical George remains near C. If Tom, then George decided to retreat and Tom is carried with the HQ and Dies of Wounds, and that is why he is found on Custer Hill. For whatever reason, whoever is in command of the battalion decides to try to move toward Calhoun Hill. (Maybe they saw evidence of Reno/Benteen?). E and F halt on Custer Hill to allow C, I, and L to catch up, who then move toward Calhoun Hill and the body trail marks their progress rather than their retreat. Tom, being wounded, is left behind and Harrington takes command of C. Perhaps Calhoun Hill is more defensible than Custer Hill?
Assumption 2: Custer decided to leave C, I, and L vicinity of Calhoun Hill.
Discussion: While we can not determine a sound reason to do so does not mean he didn't do it. If so, he would have appointed Keogh in command of the battalion. There is no apparent reason for George to relieve Tom of Company C in order for him to accompany him to the Ford. (His other brother and nephew are just along for the ride and have no military function.) Perhaps at the time, Calhoun Hill offered the best defensive ground in the area and Custer wanted to be able to come back to good ground in case he was driven back. Keogh makes a very poor deployment around the hill (not massing in a circle/square) but with only Calhoun deployed to the South. While George is at Ford D, they come under attack give ground, and some, including TC, are able to fight their way back to Custer Hill. At Ford D, George could be wounded/killed causing the rest of the detachment to lose heart, panic, and start moving back to Calhoun Hill, but are attacked near Custer Hill. The Indians now start to attack C,I, and L and/or Keogh decides to move back to Custer Hill to join up with the rest of the battalion. However, they are unsuccessful, and it turns into a case of every company for itself. Since Tom stayed with the company, one can perhaps conclude he took part of C and was able to make his way back to Custer Hill where he was killed.
Assumption 3. Custer forms two battalions, and invites Tom along for the fun and Tom accepts. He leaves 3 companies in the rear and takes two to Ford D.
Discussion: It is unforgivable that George would offer and Tom would accept, but it was apparently not unusual for G and T to go off by themselves with or without their other relations. No military or common sense, but there you are. Why would George take Tom? Perhaps to act as a messenger to Keogh to tell him when and where he wants him to come up or even less likely, as a officer messenger to Terry. Don't want to trust this to just any trumpeter, but someone you really trust. At any rate, Tom is killed/wounded and George decides to move back to the battalion, but is caught at Custer Hill and killed before he is able to unite the two battalions again.
This 2 or 5 thing is baffleing in the extreme and impossible to resolve. I agree 5 makes sense and seems to be supported by evidence, but I just can't make sense of why the Regiment (-) is deployed so far apart. Again, better to mass to defend rather than be spread out and defeated in detail.
could have been to find the best available ground to defend on with the intention of holding until relieved by Terry (not likely) or Reno/Benteen (possible, but not likely). It would have been a forlorn hope, but maybe it was just time for George to command one.
Having said, all that, what facts do we know?
Facts bearing on the problem:
1. Godfrey states Custer retained command of the five company battalion near the divide and left TC in command of C. It is highly likely he retained this task organization for the rest of the battle.
2. It is possible Custer divided the battalion later in the battle.
3. Departing from Fort Lincoln, Custer commanded the Regiment, Reno and Benteen commanded two "wings', each with 6 companies divided into four battalions of 3 companies each.
4. At least E, F, and HQ went to vicinity of Ford D.
5. E, F, and HQ were destroyed on and around Custer Hill.
6. George was found on Custer Hill with a chest wound and a head wound. The Chest wound may have been mortal, but not immediate.
7. Tom was found near George severely mutilated so cause of death is not known.
8. C, I, and L are destroyed generally on and around Calhoun Hill, with some bodies being found intermixed and in a path leading to/from Custer Hill. These bodies could be heading toward or away from Calhoun Hill.
9. The trail of bodies to/from Custer Hill to Calhoun Hill could be a result of units fighting forward or falling back.
10. There have been no soldier bodies discovered between Ford D and Custer Hill and it may be impossible to determine what company they belonged to, even if there are some. (Or is this really an assumption?) But there are artifacts showing evidence of an engagement, but again, no way to tell what companies they were from.
11. Custer has no way of knowing if Benteen is on the way or not. He may have been able to look back and see dust clouds giving him an indicator of what might happen, but no real knowledge.
Not sure where to put these observations/speculations
Custer was shot in chest and head either at Ford D, Custer Hill, or both. Chest wound may not have been immediately fatal. If so, he likely would have been brought back. This could explain the head wound, perhaps inflicted later, even by his own hand.
TC may have been killed wounded at either place, but there is no way of knowing. Either way, he may have been brought back.
Whether other members of the command would have been retrieved is questionable in my view. Reno made little effort to recover dead/wounded and Edgerly abandoned one member of his troop on the fall back from Wier Point. After the battle, only officer's graves were makred, however poorly.
This leads to three scnarios and we can speculate as to why George and Tom were found where they were.
Assumption 1: Custer took the entire battalion to vicinity Ford D.
Discussion: There is no sound tactical reason to leave 3/5ths of the combat power behind and no need to split the battalion. Whatever he is going to do, he needs to keep what is left of his command together. All five companies move to Ford D and then return to the Custer Hill - Calhoun Hill complex. TC remains with his company. Perhaps C is the lead company and if the battalion deployes into line, Custer decides to keep the HQ near C. As the battalion moves toward the River, they are engaged and either George or Tom are wounded. If George, then Yates or Keogh(I forget who is senior) assume command, decide to retreat, and George is carried back. There is NO REASON for Tom to give up command to Harrington because his brother is wounded, but if the HQ was close to C, then it is logical George remains near C. If Tom, then George decided to retreat and Tom is carried with the HQ and Dies of Wounds, and that is why he is found on Custer Hill. For whatever reason, whoever is in command of the battalion decides to try to move toward Calhoun Hill. (Maybe they saw evidence of Reno/Benteen?). E and F halt on Custer Hill to allow C, I, and L to catch up, who then move toward Calhoun Hill and the body trail marks their progress rather than their retreat. Tom, being wounded, is left behind and Harrington takes command of C. Perhaps Calhoun Hill is more defensible than Custer Hill?
Assumption 2: Custer decided to leave C, I, and L vicinity of Calhoun Hill.
Discussion: While we can not determine a sound reason to do so does not mean he didn't do it. If so, he would have appointed Keogh in command of the battalion. There is no apparent reason for George to relieve Tom of Company C in order for him to accompany him to the Ford. (His other brother and nephew are just along for the ride and have no military function.) Perhaps at the time, Calhoun Hill offered the best defensive ground in the area and Custer wanted to be able to come back to good ground in case he was driven back. Keogh makes a very poor deployment around the hill (not massing in a circle/square) but with only Calhoun deployed to the South. While George is at Ford D, they come under attack give ground, and some, including TC, are able to fight their way back to Custer Hill. At Ford D, George could be wounded/killed causing the rest of the detachment to lose heart, panic, and start moving back to Calhoun Hill, but are attacked near Custer Hill. The Indians now start to attack C,I, and L and/or Keogh decides to move back to Custer Hill to join up with the rest of the battalion. However, they are unsuccessful, and it turns into a case of every company for itself. Since Tom stayed with the company, one can perhaps conclude he took part of C and was able to make his way back to Custer Hill where he was killed.
Assumption 3. Custer forms two battalions, and invites Tom along for the fun and Tom accepts. He leaves 3 companies in the rear and takes two to Ford D.
Discussion: It is unforgivable that George would offer and Tom would accept, but it was apparently not unusual for G and T to go off by themselves with or without their other relations. No military or common sense, but there you are. Why would George take Tom? Perhaps to act as a messenger to Keogh to tell him when and where he wants him to come up or even less likely, as a officer messenger to Terry. Don't want to trust this to just any trumpeter, but someone you really trust. At any rate, Tom is killed/wounded and George decides to move back to the battalion, but is caught at Custer Hill and killed before he is able to unite the two battalions again.
This 2 or 5 thing is baffleing in the extreme and impossible to resolve. I agree 5 makes sense and seems to be supported by evidence, but I just can't make sense of why the Regiment (-) is deployed so far apart. Again, better to mass to defend rather than be spread out and defeated in detail.