Boston Custer's Message

[tomthebomb]

How much of a factor was Boston's report to GAC's battle plan after Boston arrived?

Boston must have told GAC that Benteen was not far behind and would be coming up soon.

Did GAC factor in Benteen's "coming up soon" in his decisions as he approached Battle Ridge?

[MontanaKid]

I believe so. Boston passed Benteen on the regiment's back trail, his scout already finished. Custer had sent two messengers to get Benteen to hurry, an initial message by Sgt. Daniel Knapp and a more urgent message, reinforced in writing, by Bugler Martini. Boston came up shortly after Martini left because Martini reported he passed Boston and directed him to Cedar Coulee at about the point at which the Reno-Benteen perimeter was established. I believe Custer was in an offensive mode, waiting for Benteen to get there so he could launch his planned maneuver. (debate is open as to just what that maneuver would be) He never chose Custer Ridge as a defensive position, because he knew it was a poor one. It was a temporary holding position until Benteen came up. It happened to be the high point over the village and a spot from which Custer could see the village and Benteen's approach as soon as he topped the ridge east of Weir Point. It became an unwanted defensive position and his "last stand" as warriors were able to successfully infiltrate close to his positions, isolate parts of the detachment and make maneuver off the ridge impossible.

Custer died waiting for Benteen.

[MontanaKid]

Whoops. Knapp should be Knipe. Sorry.

[David]

In fact, Boston's message is a key-point to understand why Custer was waiting so long for Benteen...


If Boston wouldn't have said to his brother that Benteen should come soon, perhaps GAC would have changed his plan.
A commander can never know if his messages have been received by a subordinate on the hostile battlefield. If Benteen was a good soldier as he saw himself, he would have answered Custer that he would arrive soon. But he never planned to arrive soon.

And what do you think about Reno claiming to have sent two people with messages to Custer, and never received any answer ? Lt DeRudio said that Custer was waving his hat on a hill in front of the Reno battlefield, to show that he would attack by the flanc and support Reno soon.
Even Soldier Goldins said that Custer sent a message to Reno with these words : "We'll be at your side soon."

We know that Reno lied several times after LBH, did Custer send him a message to order him to stay in the woods, to let the colonel attack by the flank by surprise ?

D.
Swiss Custer's buff
www.custer.tk

[shatonska]

to many ifs , but all of them could have changed everything in both ways , if reno stayed in the woods benteen would not have stopped on the hill but he could try to join custer , with reno in the wood custer would have had less warriors to fight , anyway benteen that day was in a pleasure slow trip , maybe the result could have been a much greater disaster but reno and bennteen behaviour was much worst than custer that day !