Quoted:
Quoted:
I still think Custer would have won that day (seizing the camp with non combatants) if Reno held his flank in the woods, keeping a whole lot of warriors busy, and if BENTEEN didnt advance twice slower than he should have by military rules, and if he went to the sound of the battle, as the same rules state he should have been going..
That day, Custer was betrayed by these 2 men... even if his plan wasnt perfect.
Even the the Lakotha warriors admit that Reno could have held inside the woods, and there is no doubt that the support of Benteen would have changed the outcome of the main battle..
I completely agree. I don't think they were in error, I think Reno was a coward and that Benteen was a chickenshit coward.
Based on everything I have read on this subject (which is considerable), I agree with the above assessments with one qualifier:
Both Benteen and Reno disliked Custer - and in
Benteen's case, it was more like actual hatred.
Reno's initial, spoiling attack against the southern flank of the Lakota position was a disaster, but as noted, Reno could probably have held a fall-back position on the west side of the Little Big Horn if he didn't cut and run.
Reno was drinking heavily that day by the way - which was witnessed by several of his men. Had Reno held a line on the west side of the LBH, it would have taken considerable pressure off of Custer's element when
the latter began his attack. In the event, though, ALL of the Sioux shifted north to meet Custer's advance once Reno had forfeited the field.
As for Benteen, there is almost no doubt that his hatred of Custer influenced his decision not to try and link up with Custer's element and reinforce him.At the Court of Inquiry that was held in 1878 (if memory serves - thereabouts anyway), Benteen insisted that he had no idea that Custer's element was in trouble further to his north, and that is why he decided to remain where he was, in a defensive position with what was left of Reno's command. Major Reno, BTW, was in such a sorry state by this point that even though Captain Benteen was junior in rank, Benteen pretty much relieved him of command and was making all the decisions.
However, some of Benteen's own soldiers testified that they heard intense gunfire coming from the north, and they all felt that Custer was in trouble and that Benteen should have done something.
Benteen was exonerated by the Court of Inquiry because the Army wanted to sweep the affair under the rug. The Democrats were in control of Congress at the time, and they were debating the military budget, which they wanted to cut to the bone. The Army did not want any embarrassing questions about the cavalry corps being raised by Congress at the time, nor did they want to embarrass higher ranking officers in the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Thats why I said Benteen was a chickenshit coward. Custer repremanded him, he hated Custer. I think Benteen let him and his command die.
Reno's behavior (and drinking) continued to degrade throughout the day (and night).
Have you also read that Reno reportedly pulled a trooper off his horse to escape the dell?