Post by tbw on Oct 25, 2011 16:59:17 GMT -5
Here is where one of Custer's character flaws could have affected the battle. This has been thrown around boards like this for some time. And I think it is one of those character things that might have gotten in the way of prudent judgement. The issue? It's quite simply whether or not he believed/trusted his scouts and guides. In particular, about what they told him was beyond those bluffs he later had to either climb to find out or assome say he did, skirt them, as he and they observed those bluffs from the crows nest. Benteen said at the RCOI that Custer had said that he didn't believe there was anything behinds those bluffs, not even the village he later found there. yet both Bloody Knife and Bouyer told much the same story to Custer, and they appeared to have been very accurate in what they either thought or knew was there.
The scouts and guides both by appearances seem to have been ignored, which also seems by the same standard that Benteen was also correct in what he had been told by Custer. Such skepticism seems unwarranted as we look back on it today in hindsight. But what did Custer do? He first sent Benteen on a mission to find out what was behind those bluffs. Directions be damned, that's what Benteen was supposed to do, whether left was anywhere near to finding out, we'll never know, as he might as well have said "up" or for some "down" rather than left as it made about as much sense. But I think what this means to us today is that he possibly didn't believe there was anything there, but to satiate a need to know he sent Benteen to find out. Thus it is possible through his character flaws that this battle was lost the minute he sent Benteen off.
The 2nd thing he did after finding a few indians, oh about 40 to 50 of them fleeing down Reno creek, he sends off Reno with his battalion after them. This after the scouts wouldn't immediately take pursuit and stop them from possibly alarming a village which now at that moment in time, might be there.
It appears there were several good attempts at finding out what was behind those bluffs before he himself ever arrived there, Varnum being but one of them, and both Reno and Benteen being the others. Yet nothing, not one thing is ever reported to him as he himself has to announce to Benteen that there was a "big village" located there only after he himself had found it.
From there, there appears to have been numerous couriers sent back with orders ordering units forward to his position. Both Benteen and the Pack train received similar orders, yet, neither of them was obeyed.
There also was that blurb where Goldin was supposed to have gone back, and by the sound of those orders he was supposed to have carried, Reno was ordered to somehow extricate himself from his situation and meet up with Custer downstream. That wasn't done either.
Now a whole plethora of arguments can and probably will ensue from all of this. And it really isn't needed. The principle reason this was undertaken was to determine any character flaws in Custer's decision making that led to any fault that could be rightly joined to him because of what did or didn't happen. It is for certain known that he shouldn't have split his forces in the face of so many Indians and it seems as though he was trying to rectify that huge mistake. Was there another character flaw that imposed itself once he had sent off all those messages? The question still remains as one of the hallmark questions of this battle. Why would Custer keep going away from his support in favor of staying and gathering his spread out regiment? It appears as though he trusted his junior officers to carry out his instructions, doesn't it? If he saw the opportunity to have done what he did, it was evident to him that they 'could' accomplish what he asked of them or he wouldn't have done it, would he?
The scouts and guides both by appearances seem to have been ignored, which also seems by the same standard that Benteen was also correct in what he had been told by Custer. Such skepticism seems unwarranted as we look back on it today in hindsight. But what did Custer do? He first sent Benteen on a mission to find out what was behind those bluffs. Directions be damned, that's what Benteen was supposed to do, whether left was anywhere near to finding out, we'll never know, as he might as well have said "up" or for some "down" rather than left as it made about as much sense. But I think what this means to us today is that he possibly didn't believe there was anything there, but to satiate a need to know he sent Benteen to find out. Thus it is possible through his character flaws that this battle was lost the minute he sent Benteen off.
The 2nd thing he did after finding a few indians, oh about 40 to 50 of them fleeing down Reno creek, he sends off Reno with his battalion after them. This after the scouts wouldn't immediately take pursuit and stop them from possibly alarming a village which now at that moment in time, might be there.
It appears there were several good attempts at finding out what was behind those bluffs before he himself ever arrived there, Varnum being but one of them, and both Reno and Benteen being the others. Yet nothing, not one thing is ever reported to him as he himself has to announce to Benteen that there was a "big village" located there only after he himself had found it.
From there, there appears to have been numerous couriers sent back with orders ordering units forward to his position. Both Benteen and the Pack train received similar orders, yet, neither of them was obeyed.
There also was that blurb where Goldin was supposed to have gone back, and by the sound of those orders he was supposed to have carried, Reno was ordered to somehow extricate himself from his situation and meet up with Custer downstream. That wasn't done either.
Now a whole plethora of arguments can and probably will ensue from all of this. And it really isn't needed. The principle reason this was undertaken was to determine any character flaws in Custer's decision making that led to any fault that could be rightly joined to him because of what did or didn't happen. It is for certain known that he shouldn't have split his forces in the face of so many Indians and it seems as though he was trying to rectify that huge mistake. Was there another character flaw that imposed itself once he had sent off all those messages? The question still remains as one of the hallmark questions of this battle. Why would Custer keep going away from his support in favor of staying and gathering his spread out regiment? It appears as though he trusted his junior officers to carry out his instructions, doesn't it? If he saw the opportunity to have done what he did, it was evident to him that they 'could' accomplish what he asked of them or he wouldn't have done it, would he?
