Looking over the Reno Inquiry recently, I was appalled by the statements Benteen uttered without the slightest sign of shame nor remorse. Incredible untruths referring to the "orders" he received from Custer. He called them "senseless", "Valley Hunting ad Infinitum", and declared he was to "pitch into anything I came across". The man also had the audacity to say that his return to the trail was "in violation of orders" that would have taken him "to Fort Benton."
Now what the true purpose of this mishmash of nonsensical gibberish that was completely void of any one iota of reality? to make Custer look like a buffoon, the "idiot" that some people today believe he was, thanks to the likes of Benteen.
Benteen was able to get away with this because his orders were given to him, by Custer, orally with no witnesses. He received them at the "Divide halt."
However, the truth will win out! he was forced to give Lt. Gibbon the "true" instructions as he was ordered to do so by Custer.
In a personal letter written by Gibbon he sent on 7/4/76:
"Benteen's battalion was sent to the left to see if the Indians were trying to escape up the valley of the Little Big Horn. After which we were to
hurry and join the command as soon as possible." The order was explicit and clear...return to the command as soon as possible. A direct order which Benteen did not follow.
In a letter he wrote to his wife in August, 76 he admitted as much:
"with instructions to report to me (Custer) if anything of
Indians could be seen from that point."!
In other words, he was to report back to the command if no Indians were observed! Immediately! A fast courier could have possibly caught to Custer at the "lone Tipi" before he committed Reno to action. If so, surely the outcome would have been different.
Benteen even lied about the "
ridge" he was to check out exclaiming it was about ten miles or so away. It was
1 (one) mile away! He subsequently received two further orders to continue left to a distance of perhaps 3 miles.
What was the purpose of such recalcitrant untruths? I believe Benteen was under a direct order to his senior commander (Custer)to which he did
not comply with and, the note delivered by Martini was a confirmation of the original order. If this knowledge were to be revealed Benteen would have been Court Martialed! To belie such a faith he resorted to the most onnoxious acts to cover up his failure.
If anyone knew the truth on that ride it should have been Godfrey, Weir and Edgerly, who all testified. What doesn't make sense is Godfrey's testimony, as a staunch Custer supporter why he took the stance he did is unfathomable. Weir died before the COI, so all we are left with to rely upon to check anything Benteen said was Edgerly. Here is some of my research on his testimony.
To this day not one person knows where Benteen was dispatched from on his so called scouting mission. And if left to those who would listen to anyone but Edgerly and his testimony, they will keep rolling that dice and never find it.
"About 1 mile distant" after moving "in the direction ordered" "we came to very high bluffs" (very steep cliffs or slopes). They skirted along "under those bluffs." A messenger came from Custer. They went on "about two miles further or more (at least 3 miles at this point), when another messenger came and spoke to Capt. Benteen. "Then we kept on and from that time made no further effort to go to the left..." Get this.."We kept along down, skirting the hills, and finally into the valley; there were some foot hills between us and the valley the pack train was going dowm. We went on that way to the watering place, which was about 7 or 8 miles from where we started which was about half way to where we found Major Reno." They had gone only about 3 miles when Benteen changed his direction. This direction change coincided with the 2nd messengers arrival. Edgerly stated that they kept sending Lt. Gibson to the top of those bluffs to see what was on the other side, he stated that he was sent about 4 times in 6 miles with an obvious course change at 3 miles but one that somehow still skirted those bluffs or another set of bluffs not associated with the first set perhaps because of a valley that lay between the two. This seems to be the case because a mile further than Gibson's last and 4th foray a mile or two from there lay the morass on the same course he described this way, ". At this point he notes, "We kept along down skirting the hills, and finally into the valley (the one Benteen claimed he never found); there were some foot hills between us and the valley the pack train was going dowm." At that point they were 7 to 8 miles from where they started from. The last messenger had arrived about 5 miles prior to their arrival at the morass. [Keep in mind there the Benteen stated gait of a "trot" and this to was confirmed by Edgerly and others. This gait would be somewhere in the 5 to 7 mph range. So we're only talking here about 25 to 35 minutes time after the last messengers (Voss or Sharrow, forget which) arrival they arrived at this morass. Watch this carefully, in fact very carefully.
Edgerly stated they only watered there for about 8 to 10 minutes. This time is consistent with Custer's own watering that Martin reported and I think the most reliable of all the estimates available because of this one fact alone. They watered "hurriedly" [ 8 to 10 minutes] and moved on "about a mile" when Trumpeter Martin arrived with his message. Total miles traveled 9 miles to this point. Total time consumed on a straight line course about 45 to 63 minutes riding time + 8 to 10 minutes watering time yields 53 to 73 minutes in all till the time Martin arrived. What is interesting here is the interval of time between the last messenger (voss/sharrow) and Martin. This interval of time comprised the whole of 6 miles between them and a watering time of 8 to 10 minutes intervening. Time wise this interval was between 30 and 42 minutes travel time + 8 to 10 minutes watering time for a total variance of 38 to 52 minutes between these two messengers. What's with all of this? Simple, how far did Custer go in that same amount of time? YOu could assume, 9 miles, as a baseline to start with because Custer himself did much of the same thing Benteen did. There were reports by Benteen that he saw a part of Custer's command galloping. And at some point during Custer's journey down the right bank he was also reported by those who survived as "on the jump all the way" or "galloped all the way didn't stop". The rate of gait speed needed to maintain unit structure and integrity at that gait was between 10 and 13 mph, which simply means that they went at least 10 to 13 miles in 60 minutes time [5 min. to 10 max time to water according to Martin] making their total time 65 to 70 minutes. This time tolerably splitting the time [53 minimum to 73 minutes maximum time] when Martin arrived at Benteen's 9 mile position.
Edgerly said at the COI that he thought Custer's trail and/or by direct reference that Custer and his men were never any further away from them than 2 1/2 miles at any moment in time. While they later made him renege on this point. The pertinent facts remain. From the time they left, ie. not over 2 1/2 miles away, till the time Martin arrived, they weren't over 2 1/2 miles away from each other at those times. Why say this? Martin's ride back he stated honestly when he said it took him about as much time as it took to travel 500-600 yards or 3/4ths of a mile back to the same hill he and Custer had just been on. This time was at the very least about 5 minutes and not more than 10. His own statements she further light...
"Q. If you can tell the distance, state how far you had gone from that watering place to the place where you could look down and see the village?"
A. I should judge it was about an hour and a half after we left the watering place till we got to that place, There were hills to go up and down and we could not go so fast. (The seventh and eighth words are obvious errors. The witness was speaking of disLance and probably used "a mile and
a half.")
And W.A.G was correct. Because at that point none of them had rode an hour and a half. So we know from these statements that from that "same hill" back to this morass was a mile and a half. Benteen stated that he saw him coming at a "jog trot" about 5 mph or 18 minutes to traverse that distance at that gait. From Custer to Benteen at that point was indeed no further than 2 and 1/2 miles, in fact if was slightly less as Martin's ride would only take about 23 to 28 minutes total time.
What is interesting to note at this point is the similarity and proximity of each command on these rides. If Custer had maintained a 10 to 13 mph gait speed and Benteen had maintained a gait speed of 5 to 7 mph, the distance, as told and figured, would have been and WAS about the stated 2 1/2 miles Edgerly said it was. It could never have been over 4 miles, and more likely than not, at or under a mile from each other at times.
What happens next defies explanation or does it?
"About a mile or two from there (10 to 11 miles from start), we came to a lone tepee burning."
"after we passed that tepee we saw Indians off to our right on points, which we afterwards found were our own scouts watching the result of the battle." Benteen confirms this mileage
Q. About how far from that tepee where you found' the dead Warrior was it where Gen. Custer gave you the order to diverge with your battalion?
A, About eleven Miles.
Edgerly:
Q. About how far do you think you travelled after striking the trail before reaching the watering place? [Why this question?]
A. We struck it close to the watering place within half a mile probably. [Because of the answer. Custer had sent Martin on his back trail to deliver his message. Custer knew where Benteen was... watering his horses not over 2 1/2 miles from him when he sent Martin away!]
Q. From there how far was it to that burning tepee?
A. About 3 miles. [2 1/2 might be closer for "the trail". 3 miles expresses the difference between morass and tepee.]
Q. About how far from the tepee to the river?
A. About 3 1/2 miles.
To understand this, there was and still is a confusion afoot that most people don't grasp. Benteen and his battalion didn't quote "go back" to a "lone tepee". The only change in course reported by Edgerly was at the 3 mile mark into Benteen's mission when that 2nd messenger arrived. How do we know he didn't "go back". Edgerly, "As this command moved along Capt, Benteen and myself looked into it and saw a dead Indian in it. We then went to the head of the column again. After we passed that tepee (closer to the river than 3 1/2 miles) we saw Indians off to our right on points, which we afterwards found were our own scouts watching the result of the battle."
After this, here is his report:
When we came to within about a mile (12 1/2 to 13 miles from start) of where Major Reno crossed the river (on his retreat!), we saw mounted men in the bottom. We could not see whether they were Indians or white men. About half a mile from the (retreat) crossing, we saw a body of men going over the bluffs. Some one said they were Indians - someone else said "I don't know", in a doubtful way. We went on towards the crossing, and there saw an Indian scout named Half Yellow Face, and he beckoned us to come to the right and we did so, and the Indians comnenced firing at us from the bottom. None of them did us any harm. A few of the bullets struck at our horses feet. We went up about half a mile [13 to 13 1/2 miles from start) and found Major Reno on top of the hill with his conmand.
This mileage is backed up by his own statement at the COI.
Q, How far did you travel with the column after leaving General Custer before
you struck the trail again?
A. I think we came on the trail again about nine miles down the valley. (7 1/2 to 8 1/2 according to his statements above.)
Q. You made a circuit of about how much?
A, Probably fourteen miles. (13 to 13 1/2 according to his statements above.)
The difference between them "coming on trail" (8 1/2 miles) and the end of their circuit (13 1/2 miles) was about 5 miles. They came "on trail about 1/2 mile from the morass and this being about 8 1/2 miles into their journey. "Go back"? HOw? The only mention of any course change by Edgerly was after Custer's 2nd messenger, the only one and that was at about the 3 mile mark into their journey. If they turned around right then and there and went back to this supposed morass on Reno creek that would have been a round trip of 6 miles. Did Custer recall him? If he turned around there, Did Custer recall him because this course change occurred when that 2nd messenger arrived according to Edgerly. If not there, then where would Benteen have made such a course change where Edgerly didn't observe, make note or say anything about it?
When they came upon the trail near that morass ( 9 miles) they were only 5 miles from completing the circuit Edgerly spoke of. But there was something left out of Edgerlys equation. His mileage estimates from the morass to the tepee and from there to the river equal more than 6 miles. So what is going on? From where they met up with the trail to that "lone burning tepee" was 2 1/2 miles. They were at that time 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 miles into their journey, making that "lone burning tepee" just as Edgerly said 10 to ll miles from where they started. Edgerly then stated this, "When we came to within about a mile (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 miles from start) of where Major Reno crossed the river (on his retreat!), we saw mounted men in the bottom." Just in case this eluded your sense the first time, I repeated it here. A mile short of this tepee from the river measurement of 3 and 1/2 miles is another 2 1/2 miles. This was added to the 10 and ll respectively for a total of 12 1/2 miles to 13 1/2 miles. He further said they went a further 1/2 mile [13 to 14 miles] to meet up with Reno. But I will ask just this one question that most wont know how to answer. Where in Reno Creek, which is where most people put this tepee and where they think Benteen was and went to, could they have possibly seen this? "When we came to within about a mile (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 miles from start) of where Major Reno crossed the river, we saw mounted men in the bottom." Think about it.
For example, at the rescue of Sweet Water Creek (3/15/69) Custer was notified by his scouts that they had located two Cheyenne villages of 260 lodges under Chief Medicine Arrow and Little Robe at Sweet Water Creek, Texas.