T, Great find. General (Lt. Colonel) Custard's own words. Of course, we have to read it with the realization that he was thinking of running for President.
My favorite Custer book was by Evan Connell called "Son of The Morning Star." Though Evan made some claims that seem doubtful to me, such as: 1. The 7th Cavalry didn't know how to operate their rifles. I don't think so. The 7th was an elite outfit and I doubt they couldn't figure out how to work the weapons. The Sioux and Cheyenne, from a much less technologically oriented society, used the ones they captured with good effect, so it probably wasn't rocket science. 2. That had Custer and Terry made their rendezvous, there would have been more of a slaughter. Reno fought off attacks with much fewer men than Terry had at his command. I think that Custer and Terry's troops combined, would have been too big a bite for Crazy Horse to chew. In fact, I believe that had Custer not split his troops and outrun his artillery, there would have been no attack at all. 3. That the soldiers were so scared that they didn't fight. These are the guys who fought the Cheyenne in many campaigns. And none of the Native American survivors mentioned any lack of fight on the part of Custer's men. Just a lack of numbers and a crappy defensive point.
He did make several telling points, though. 1. Bentene was slow to bring up the artillery. The battle was over before he was anywhere close to the battlefield. 2. Reno would have been wiped out if he'd tried to cut through to save Custer. Together, the force was decent. Apart, Crazy Horse could just pick out the most exposed unit.
Anyway, a very interesting historical story and one where you can always get an argument, much like Pearl Harbor. |
