Post by tbw on Jan 29, 2011 9:24:59 GMT -5
Its a well accepted fact that there was someone in charge of the Itinerary the day of the battle. It is also a well accepted fact that for well over 130 years the times he reported could not have been correct. Of course we're talking about Lt. Wallace. Wallace didn't put together this complete itinerary nor his times until nigh on to 6 months after the battle. The question should be posed, why? Was he doing it from his own recollection of what he thought was facts and perhaps others faded memories, or was it something more nefarious. In either event we may never know the purpose nor the reasons for the times he established. Still, his influence upon times and timelines have and continue to lead many astray of the facts. Facts that can be proven without any shadow of doubt.
There were several well qualified men who no doubt did know the time The Divide was crossed, and they stated it in official reports and private letters written while their memories were fresh; only days after the battle. Yet when questioned 3 years later at the RCOI about those times, their statements didn't jive with what they wrote right after the battle. Again, why? Whose times did they match up with? None other than Lt. Wallace's who the court saw fit to make the very first official 7th Cavalry witness to testify. They wouldn't want to get that wrong, now would they? But, they did, they purposefully chose Lt. Wallace to lead the discussion about times because?... You guessed it. He was the official time keeper who botched those times from the beginning! Again, why?
Reno in his official report on the LBH action, written right after the battle, and in all regards, no less with the help of Lt. Wallace, stated that they crossed The divide at 8:00 am that morning. Captain Benteen in a private letter to his wife, wrote that they crossed the divide at about 8:30 that morning. Neither men had any reason at that time to suspect that this time would be the cause of any such dissension. But it was... three years later in the case of the RCOI, and was again 6 months after the battle for Lt. Wallace!
Now no one stops to think about this, no one. But one has to give some credence to the thought of what the bejesus were they doing? F. Girard said that the General awoke him at 4am that morning and not long after the column moved. He also reported that from that camp to the divide was about 5 miles. At the mere walk pace of about 3mph it would have taken them 1hr 40 minutes to go that 5 miles. They would have arrived at the divide at 5:40 am provided they started immediately when Girard was awakened. Even if one provides an extra hour for them to break camp, they arrive at The Divide at 6:40 am. What now? Await Custer's first and only trip to the mtn. or his 2nd whichever anyone prefers? Interesting isn't it? Exactly what happened? 1 hr. and 20 minutes later Reno reports that he is crossing that Divide in his official report. Benteen is also reporting the same 1/2 hour later than Reno's official account! Why this discrepancy? It may have been simple placement within the order of march. Benteen did say that he followed the clanging of a bell through the dark the night before, which indicated that he was behind the Pack Train, as no other Cavalry animal would have dared have such a bell on them. So, he was behind the Pack Train, not that his company was, although one supposes that it too could have been, but he was! It is also evident that Reno was somewhere near the head of the column, quite naturally, with the commander away, it would have been his proper position. It could have easily taken them 1/2 hour to clear the entire regiment to cross that divide, from beginning to end, so Reno's 8:00am and Benteen's 8:30am crossing can be accounted for. So who moved the regiment over The Divide, and why?
Custer departed the regiment sometime around 6:40am and didn't return from his "halfway" trip to the Crows Nest until Benteen reported it as about 9:30am; Exactly 1 hour after Benteen had personally crossed that Divide himself, and 30 minutes after Reno had. So, what did Custer find upon his return to the regiment? Well, unless someone stopped for frequent rest stops, shopping excursions or whatever fancied their circuits, the head of the column at that time was about 4 1/2 miles from the divide, AND the tail end of that column was somewhere near about 3 miles from the divide! What happened next? Well, most, lets say wouldn't ever believe, not in a million years. Why? Because of those blasted times that Wallace and then everyone else chimed in unison on at the RCOI. It simply can't be viewed any other way, can it? YET....
One man did report the correct retreat time for Reno and his men, one man. That man was F. Girard. Why, say I? Because just as the Indians reported Reno began his attack upon that village about 10 minutes after 12:00 noon that day. That was the time he departed Custer, and by 1PM he was in full retreat to the bluffs.
Why all the fuss about times? One must take a look at every possibility to find the truth and not let personal biases get in one's way, only when one is able to do this, will the truth be discovered, and, the sooner the better!
