“Come on...Be Quick” (Part 7 of 11)

What happened to Custer?  Scholars and historians have debated what may have occurred during the last few hours of his life.  There were no survivors of the events surrounding the annihilation of his battalion other than the Sioux and Cheyenne, and even if they had been asked, many probably would not have offered testimony at the time for fear of retribution.  Not until much later when memories had faded did they offer accounts.  So, the story was left to the imaginations of those who were not there.  Custer’s wife Libby took an active role in the narrative that the Seventh fought valiantly to the last man.  Artists portrayed Last Stand Hill with a ring of embattled cavalrymen firing in all directions as a mass of mounted Indians swirled around them, other troopers fighting hand to hand with Indians wielding tomahawks and war clubs.  Years later, Hollywood would add to the legend with similar portrayals of great bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.  There may have been a hint of truth in what became popular belief, but much of it was all a fabrication, a falsehood, a lie, what legends are made from, what becomes reality to those who want to believe in the legend.

No one knows for certain what happened to Custer’s battalion, but there are clues that cannot be dismissed, clues that give a picture of an engagement that may have more resembled the fight that Reno’s battalion encountered that afternoon, a fight that may have started with the discipline expected of United States cavalrymen, but quickly dissolved into panic, terror, and rout.

We do know that the battalion proceeded north staying just beyond the ridgeline of the bluffs east of the river, careful to remain hidden from the village below.  At some point Custer had his adjutant scribble a message on a scrap of paper, ordering trumpeter Giovanni Martini to deliver the note to Captain Benteen: “Come on.  Big village.  Be quick.  Bring Packs.”  The note was a life saver for Martini who remained with Benteen’s battalion after delivering the dispatch.  The implication of the order was that Custer believed that, with Benteen’s help along with the additional ammunition carried by the pack train, they could cross the river and attack the village.  That is about as much as can be concluded concerning Custer’s state of mind.  Despite his mention of a big village, he likely still had no appreciation for just how many warriors he and his men were about to encounter.

By this time, Benteen had satisfied himself that there were no Indians farther upstream and had turned back to find what remained of Reno’s battalion besieged on what became known as Reno Hill.  Benteen didn’t quite know what to make of Custer’s demand to “Bring packs” and “Be quick” as the pack train was still some distance away.  The arrival of Benteen’s battalion was welcome relief to the demoralized and beleaguered men of Reno’s battalion.  It had lost thirty or forty men presumed dead and possibly as many or more wounded in the wild dash to the illusory safety of the hilltop.  The addition of Benteen’s men would make the position much more tenable.

But what of Custer’s demand to “Come on”?  Reno didn’t want to abandon his wounded, to do so would have meant their certain death.  Under the circumstances, dividing the two battalions would once again increase their vulnerability.  It seemed more prudent to stay together.  As they debated, a disgusted Captain Weir who apparently thought the orders to be perfectly clear took it upon himself to lead his Company D north along the ridge toward where he believed Custer to be, Benteen’s battalion eventually, perhaps reluctantly, following.  None had gone more than a mile before turning back.  They had heard intense firing in the distance, firing that had since died off, and while the number of Indians surrounding Reno Hill had earlier diminished sharply, it was now quickly multiplying again.  Best to stay together.  Custer and his men were probably besieged in a similar defensive position somewhere to the north.