Red Devils -23 - The Deed and the Aftermath

V. Battle of the Little Bighorn, or the Battle of the Greasy Grass

On June 21st, there was a meeting between Terry, Gibbon and Custer on board the steamboat Far West which was on the Yellowstone River, just by the mouth of the Rosebud River. It was 110 miles north from where General Crook had has his misadventure five days before, but they knew nothing of what had happened.

Orders were issued. Gibbon and Major Reno were to take their troops to the beginning of the Bighorn River, and then ride south. Custer was to go immediately south to find the Indian trail that Col. Gibbon had said that he had found 40 miles south. When he found the tracks, if he hadn’t found the Indian village, he was to continue south, possibly even into Wyoming, to try to get behind the Indians when the other troops were planning on coming down towards them.

The strike date for the coordinated action was to be on the 26^th of June.

 Two days later, on June 23rd, Custer found the Indian trail as described by Reno. His scouts said they thought there were about 1200 Indians who had passed the trail. So they continued following it and on the 24th, they found that it had turned west, towards the Little Bighorn River, just as General Terry had expected.

The trail led from the valley of the Rosebud River up over the Wolf Mountains into the valley of the Little Big Horn, where they were sure the Indians were camped.

Custer marched his troops to the top of the hills, with the intention of attacking from that position. He did not do what he had been ordered to do, go south, nor did he send a report back to his fellow soldiers. By 10 a.m. on Sunday morning the 25^th of June, they had nearly reached the top of the hill.

Their Indian scouts reported back that the group of Indians was much bigger than anticipated, and cautioned Custer that it was not a wise move to attack.

But having discovered that the Indians knew they were there, as a packet of hard tack had been lost off the cart, and when the soldiers went back to retrieve it, they found Indians had been there before them. So they knew that for all their stealth, they could not surprise attack the Indians. Custer had three choices: to wait and see what the Indians would do and send a message to the others; to stay and risk being attacked, or to attack. He chose the latter, again against the advice of his scouts.

 He decided to divide his troops into three sections so they would be attacking the Indians from three different directions at once. Major Reno (with companies A, G, and M) was to off to the South, following the Indian trail. The Indians were about five miles away. The plan was for him to attack the upper end of the Indian village.

Benteen and Fredrick, with companies H, D, and K, swung to the left, in towards the river. His job was to attack the lower or west end of the village.

Custer himself took charge of companies C, F, I and L which included troops under the control of his brother, and his brother-in-law and my father. Their troops went to the right, going north, and staying along the bluffs.

They could see the squaws packing up lodge things from this hunting village, but the ponies were all still grazing, and the tepees still erect. There were 15,000 Indians camped here - not the 1200 that they had anticipated.

The lodges were on the southern side of Greasy Grass. The village had been living in the old free way. It was the first time that so many Sioux had been able to get together. Every night there had been dancing and feasting. They were celebrating Chief Crazy Horse’s victory at Rosebud Creek the week before. They had intended moving northward on that very morning, but word had come that the soldiers were approaching which was a surprise. The chiefs decided not to run, as they had plenty of warriors, plenty of guns and ammunition and were not afraid. They spotted the progress of Custer’s troops along the ridge, but while this was happening, they were attacked from the rear by Reno’s troops - a great surprise to them.

Reno had also spotted Custer as he went into the Indian village, and Custer raised his hat and waved it at him in an encouraging fashion.

The Indians rallied their contingent, and went to meet the troops. Major Reno did not strike hard, and before he reached the village, the Indians were strongly upon him, and forced him back. They swarmed around him, and he had no choice, he felt, but to retreat. At first they dismounted and went to the cover of woods to fight, but then they realized that the Indians were taking their horses, so the order was given to retreat to higher ground on the other side of the river. The Indians did not continue chasing them. By this time 32 of his troops had been killed and another 50 wounded. Three of the Arikara scouts, including the leader, Bloody Knife had been killed. The battle had taken place in 30 minutes, and the retreat, another 30.

It was about a 2.30 when Custer’s troops started their descent into the valley - charging at the Indians. Reno’s troops had already withdrawn. Because the Indians had plenty of time to plan what to do, the Chief in charge of the battle sent many of his warriors to hide in the ravines so they would ready to fire on Custer as he got down to their level. When he did get there, and they all stood up, Custer decided the best action was for his men to fight from the ground, so they all dismounted. (pictured above) Within a few minutes, Custer had to order his men to retreat to the hills again, which they did, as ordered, in lines, all in formation. And that is how they were found later, in formation - just as they had started to beat their retreat. Custer tried to get his company onto higher grounds, but the Indians, who greatly outnumbered them, surrounded them, and then it was just a matter of picking them off one by one. In less than an hour, nearly everyone was dead. Chief Gall gave a Whoop and the warriors from all size charged into the remaining soldiers - and no one was left. The Indians knew they still had to deal with Reno’s men, but they were in no hurry, so they rested, and took their time, deciding what was best to do next. They knew they could prevent them getting to the water, and that was as good a defence as any other.

Captain Benteen had been going along his assigned path and hadn’t seen any Indians at all. Then they got a message sent from Custer's troops. "Come in a hurry and bring more ammunition" - was what it in effect said. So they picked up their pace and set their target to be traveling so they would intersect with Custer’s troops. As he went along, he heard gunshots and saw smoke and realized that Reno’s troops were withdrawing, so he went to join them. He was a seasoned Indian fighter, unlike Reno for whom this was the first experience of this sort of warfare.

Both men then heard more shots, and realized that Custer’s troops were now engaged with the Indians. Various officers were worried about Custer, and wanted to go to his aid, and some of them started off down towards the sounds of the battle, but there were Indians blocking the way and they were turned back. There were four miles between them and Custer, and that could be covered in twenty minutes on good horses. But Reno thought that it was better to stay put, and not put any more lives at risk. Before very long the gunfire slowed, and then ceased. And the Indians all seemed to be going away from the battlefield. They assumed it was all over but now the Indians were coming to where they were grouped, and the assault of arrows and bullets lasted from 6 until 9 p.m. and the men were nearly dying of thirst. Some risked their lives to try to get water, and most of them didn’t come back. Eighteen killed, 48 wounded.

That evening the Indians celebrated and did scalp dances, and then at 2 a.m. they attacked the soldiers on the hill. For the next 12 hours there was fierce fighting. Then the Indians set fire to the brush grass, and then withdrew, ending the siege.

Reno moved his men and the wounded near the river to await Custer and General Gibbon. The next morning, June 27th, they saw a cloud of dust coming off the hillside. Thinking it might be the Indians coming back, they took up defensive positions. But it turned out to be scouts from the Terry and Gibbon troops, who said they had not seen anything of Custer. But someone mentioned seeing a lot of white things while looking down into a valley.

Captain Benteen was detailed to go back and look, and what they found overwhelmed them all. 212 naked, dead, scalped bodies - the entire company of Custer’s men. They recognized, Custer, and Tom Custer, and many more, including the young Custer relatives, and Mark Kellogg.

VI. AFTERMATH

News of the battle came first to the Bismarck Tribune, and there the editor, Mr. Lounsberry worked through the night to prepare his front page edition.

I have copied here the first bit of the story from the front page of the Bismarck Tribune Extra on July 6th, 1876.

MASSACRED

GEN. CUTER AND 261 MEN THE VICTIMS

NO OFFICER OR MAN OF 5 COMPANIES LEFT TO TELL THE TALE.

3 Days Desperate Fighting by Maj. Reno and the Remainder of the Seventh.

Full Details of the Battle.

LIST OF KILLED AND WOUNDED.

 THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE’S SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SLAIN.

Squaws Mutilate and Rob the Dead

Victims Captured Alive Tortured in a Most Fiendish Manner.

What will Congress Do about It?

Shall this be the Beginning of the End?

It will be remembered that the Bismarck Tribune sent a special correspondent with General Terry, who was the only professional correspondent with the expedition. Kellogg’s last words to the writer were: “We leave the Rosebud tomorrow and by the time this reaches you we will have MET AND FOUGHT the red devils, with what result remains to be seen. I go with Custer and will be at the death.” How true!

It goes on to describe the action, which I have already gone through. Then it continues:

General Custer, who was shot through the head and body, seemed to have been among the last to fall and around and near him lay the bodies of Col. Tom and Boston, his brothers, Col. Calhoun, his brother-in-law and his nephew young Reed who insisted on accompanying the expedition for pleasure. Cpt. Cook and the members of the non-commisioned staff all dead - all striped of their clothing and many of them with their bodies terribly mutilated. The squaws seem to have passed over the field and crushed the skulls of the wounded and dying with stones and clubs. The heads of some were severed from the body, the privates of some were cut off, while others bore traces of torture, arrows having been shot into their private parts while yet living or other means of torture adopted. The only citizens killed were Boston Custer, Mr. Reed, Charles Reynolds, Isaiah, the interpreter from Ft. Rice and Mark Kellogg, the latter the correspondent. The body of Kellogg alone remained  unstopped of its clothing and was not mutilated. Perhaps as they had learned to respect the Great Chief, Custer, and for that reason did not mutilate his remains, they had in like manner learned to respect this humble shover of the lead pencil and that fact maybe attributed this result. The wounded were sent to the rear some fourteen miles on horse litters striking the Far West sixty odd miles up the Big Horn at which point they left on Monday at noon reaching Bismarck at 10 p.m.

The burial of the dead was sad work but they were all decently interred. Many could not be recognized; among the latter class were some of the officers.

(Then there is a list of the dead and  wounded, which I will not include.)

The total number of killed was two hundred and sixty one, wounded 52. Thirty-eight of the wounded were  brought down on the Far West, three of them died en route. The remainder are cared for at the field hospital.

Lounsberry also telegraphed the news, including Kellogg's correspondence, to a number of eastern newspapers, including The New York Herald. Two letters written by Kellogg were published posthumously by the Herald on July 11, 1876.

In 1878, the army awarded 24 Medals of Honor to participants in the fight on the bluffs for bravery, most for risking their lives to carry water from the river up the hill to the wounded. Few questioned the conduct of the enlisted men, but many questioned the tactics, strategy and conduct of the officers.

The Indians were eventually asked for their version of this great war between cultures. I have copied two of these interviews with the permission of the New York Herald who retain the original work. (I put in White Cow Bull’s story, and that of Pretty Shield, wife of Go Ahead, word for word, as I had been directed to do by Mr. Hudson.)