Army Reorganizations

[markland]

Organizational structure for a Cavalry regiment as of January, 1875.

Source: The Army Register, January 1875

[Note: A cavalry regiment consists of twelve troops.]

01-Colonel
01-Lt. Colonel
03-Majors
01-Adjutant (Extra Lieutenant)
01-Regimental Quartermaster (Extra Lieutenant)
12-Captains
12-First Lieutenants
12-Second Lieutenants
01-Regimental Sergeant Major
01-Quartermaster Sergeant
01-Chief Musician
01-Saddler Sergeant
01-Chief Trumpeter
12-First Sergeants
60-Sergeants
48-Corporals
24-Trumpeters
24-Farriers & Blacksmiths
12-Saddlers
12-Wagoners
648-Privates

Organizational structure for a Cavalry troop as of January, 1875.

Source: The Army Register, January 1875

01-Captains
01-First Lieutenants
01-Second Lieutenants
01-First Sergeants
05-Sergeants
04-Corporals
02-Trumpeters
02-Farriers & Blacksmiths
01-Saddlers
01-Wagoners
54-Privates

EDIT 08/17/16-I have verified that the number Corporals is "48" and that the number of Privates is "54." I have removed the erroneous figures.

[harpskiddie]

I wish I'd read your post before spending an hour looking for the one page among thousands. Sure enough, I have no record of where I got the information, but the major difference is that I have an authorized company strength of only 74 in total - three officers, eleven noncoms, and sixty other ranks [which included 2 trumpeters, a saddler, wagoner, farrier, blacksmith and 54 privates].

my other notes, except for the numbers, are:

"Medical personnel were assigned to the regiment as indicated by the circumstances. Larger military posts usually had a hospital staffed by officers and men of the Medical Department. Except where the regiment provided temporarily-seconded enlisted men to assist, the medical staff was independent of the regiment and not carried on its rolls. Surgeons might be commissioned officers or contracted civilians. The authorized number of enlisted Hospital Stewards was only 297 for the entire army, so it was quite common for company men, usually privates, to be temporarily assigned to this duty."

"Regiments also customarily assigned a sergeant to the 'unofficial' no-longer-authorized position of Commissary Sergeant. This assignment necessarily dictated a loss of one sergeant to a combat company, as did indeed the temporary assignments of other enlisted personnel to headquarters staff. All the clerks and orderlies were a direct drain on combat strength."

Elisabeth: I don't know about all the other regiments, but I think the situation was more or less the same throughout the cavalry branch. None of the four 2nd Cavalry companies with Gibbon's column had a full complement of officers. One of them, F, was commanded by a 2nd Lt.

Their strengths were: F - 1 officer and 45 others
G - 2 officers and 34 others
H - 2 officers and 41 others
L - 3 officers and 37 others
Two of the officers were not serving with their companies, one being detached to Gibbon's HQ and one acting as battalion adjutant. Two of the enlisted men were on extra duty as hospital attendants to Assistant Surgeon Paulding, so in effect you have four companies with 6 officers and 155 men, which is maybe a few more men per company than the 7th had, but really not that much of a difference.

[markland]

HK, sorry about that but I unexpectedly decided to go to L'worth late yesterday (and She Who MUST Be Obeyed raised no objections).

For what it is worth, the figures from the 1875 Register match those of the January, 1876 organizational structure also.

Horses? I got your stinking horses...just to figure out how to put them in tabular form per month...also something else I tried last night-we'll see if it worked. If it does, Tim will be happy!

Billy

[elisabeth]

Useful stuff, harpskiddie; good to know it wasn't just the 7th. What do we know about Crook's complement? Much the same?

I suppose perhaps we need to consider the numbers sick, in jail, deserting etc. before we can be absolutely certain whether the 7th was a shabbier outfit than others. But I'm merciful; I don't expect an answer right away ...

Billy, you do find some wonderful deaths!

[harpskiddie]

Thanks Billy. That is exactly the organization I have. Now I know where I got it, and how to attribute it. A Rumpole fan, are we??

Elisabeth: don't go away, I'll have the Crook cavalry figures for you very shortly. By the way, those numbers for Brisbin's battalion are for present for duty as of 25 June. The detached, arrested [at least one officer was under arrest], sick and killed [two men had been killed] etc. have been taken into account, but if you want to know who they were. I can provide the info.

[elisabeth]

Well, it'd be nice to know out of mere curiosity (aka nosiness). But what I had in mind really was whether the 7th was noticeably sicker, less disciplined, or more prone to desertions than any other regiment. Instinct says they were probably all pretty much the same; but if there was something wrong with the 7th, perhaps we ought to know ...

For instance, the swathe of new recruits that had to tramp on foot: who were they replacing? Was it just that a load of 1871 enlistments had come to an end? Or had there been a mass exodus for other, less respectable, reasons?

[harpskiddie]

Elisabeth: I spoke too soon - I can only give you the officer complement, but I think that will be indicative of the whole. As at 20 June 1876.

THIRD CAVALRY
Company A: - Ist Lt. Joseph Lawson
Company B: - Capt. Charles Meinhold
Company C: - Capt. Frederick Van Vleit
Company D: - 2nd Lt. James F. Simpson
Company E: - Capt. Alexander Sutorious 1st Lt. Adolphus H. Von Leutwitz
Company F: - 2nd Lt. Bainbridge Reynolds
Company G: - 1st Lt, Emmett Crawford
Company I: - Capt. William H. Andrews 2nd Lt. James Foster
Company L: - Capt. Peter Dumont Vroom
Company M: - Capt. Anson Mills 1st Lt. Augustus Choteau Paul 2nd Lt. Frederick Schwatka

These guys had only one company with a full complement of officers, and only two others with more than one. Two companies were commanded by Second Lieutenants.

SECOND CAVALRY
Company A: - Capt. Thomas B. Dewers 2nd Ly. Daniel C. Pearson
Company B: - 1st Lt. William C. Rawolle
Company D: - 1st Lt. Samuel M Swigert 2nd Lt. Henry D. Huntington
Company E: - Capt. Elijah R. Wells 2nd Lt. Frederick William Sibley
Company I: - Capt. Henry E.Noyes [also cmmdg battlaion] 2nd Lt. Frederick W. Kingsbury

They didn't have any companies with a full complement, but only one with a single officer. Two were missing Captains.

There was also a lack of field officers - only two Lt. Colonels and two Majors for the whole lot. Actually, the Seventh was not so badly off in comparison. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the enlisted situation was about the same across the board. Somewhere I have the totals, but not the company breakdowns, but I ain't gonna bother digging them out.

Don't you dare ask about the infantry!!!!!!

Another good indicator would be the Fifth cavalry, which was sent out to reinforce Crook after the Rosebud Fight.

FIFTH CAVALRY

Company A: - Capt. Robert Phillips Wilson
Company B: - Capt. Robert H. Montgomery
Company C: - 2nd Lt. Edward L. Keyes
Company D: - Capt. Samuel Sumner 1st Lt. Calbraith P. Rodgers
Company G: - Capt. Edward M. Hayes 2nd Lt. Hoel Smith Bishop
Company I: - Capt. Sanford C. Kellogg 1st Lt. Bernard Reilly Jr.
Company K: - Capt. Julius W. Mason 1st Lt. Charles King
Company M: - Capt. Edward H. Leib 2nd Lt. Charles Henry Watts

The Fifth was better off than the others in terms of Captains, but had no companies with three officers, and three with only one, including one commanded by a Second Lieutenant.

[elisabeth]

Thanks! All those 2nd Lts. in command of companies are terrifying. I suppose, given the barriers to promotion, most of them could have been pretty experienced -- not babies like Sturgis -- but even so ... It really underlines how dependent the army must have been on good sergeants.

Irrelevant to 1876, but possibly of interest none the less: I hadn't realised until very recently that when Keogh took command of Co. I in 1866, he had no other officers under him for months -- not until well into the spring of 1867. He didn't get a 1st Lt. at all until the very end of 1867, and a 2nd Lt. only in April. I don't know how it was in other companies; but it can't have been easy, commanding a company and a fort single-handed. No wonder he valued his sergeants.

(I should add that there were infantry officers on the post -- Fred Beecher as QM, for instance -- so "single-handed" may be a bit of an exaggeration. But no other 7th Cav. officers.)

[harpskiddie]

Elisabeth: You are a terrible taskmistress, and I don't like you no more [but no less either].

I don't know about the 1876 recruits as to whom they were replacing - but probably just filling vacancies caused by ending enlistments and the usual shortages. I don't think regiments were ever up to strength. Probably an effort was made to fill up the regiments which would form parts of the various expeditions going into the field. You'll see on another thread that I show how many were actually at the Little Horn.

As to the sick, nutso, criminal etc. here's the lowdown:

SECOND CAVALRY
Company F Company G Company H Company L Totals
Detched at Fort Sanders 1 pvt 2 pvts 1 pvt 1 pvt 5
Detached at Fort Ellis 6 pvts 1 sgt 11 pvts 4 pvts 1cpl 6 pvts 29
Detached at Fort Pease 1 pvt 10 pvts 2 pvts 3 pvts 16
Killed 23 May 1876 2 pvts 2
On extra duty 1 pvt 1 pvt 2
On mail runs 1 cpl 2 pvts 3
Sick at various 1 pvt 2 sgts 5 pvts 1 pvt 9
Confined at various 1 pvt 1 lt. 2 pvts 4

SEVENTH CAVALRY
Detached Prior Detached Field Extra Duty Mail Sick Confined Asylum
Company A 1 cpl 2 pvts 1 sgt 3 pvts 0 0 0 0 0
Company G 2 sgts 1 pvt 16 pvts 0 0 2 0 1
Company M 1 pvt 1 sgt 4 pvts 0 0 1 1 0

RENO TOTALS 7 25 0 0 3 1 1

Company D 1 lt 2 pvts 1 cpl 11pvts 0 0 1 0 0
Company H 1 lt 2 pvts 0 0 6 3 0
Company K 1 cpt 2 pvts 1 cpl 19 pvts 2 0 3 0 1 deserter prior

BENTEEN TOTALS 7 34 2 0 10 3 1

Company B 1 lt 1 sgt 1 pvt 1 sgt 20 pvts 0 0 1 1 0

Company C 1sgt 2 pvts 1 cpl 6 pvts 0 0 2 2 1 deserter Pow
Company E 1 cpt 1 sgt 4 pvts 2 pvts 0 0 1 1 1
Company F 2 lts 1 sgt 4 pvts 6 pvts 0 0 0 2 0
Company I 1 cpl 5 pvts 3 sgts 4 pvts 0 0 6 0 0
Company L 1 cpt 1 lt 1 sgt 1 sgt 1 cpl 3 pvts 0 0 3 0 0
2 pvts

CUSTER TOTALS 27 27 0 0 12 5 1
+ 1 deserter

So the totals for the Seventh are:
Detached prior to the campaign - 44
Detached in the Field - 107
Sick at various locations - 26
Confined at variuos locations - 10
In Asylums at various locations - 3
Deserted from Fort Lincoln - 1
Deserted from Powder River - 1
On extra duty at battle - 2*

*actually there were more than 2 but it would be too confusing to list them. They were all at the battle, anyway.

If you take the Second Cavalry numbers and multiply them by three [four companies as compared to twelve], you will find that the Seventh had relatively fewer detachments prior to the campaign, relatively more in the field [but the total detachments are almost identical] and about the same in terms of sick and confined. The Seventh had two deserters and the Second had none, and the Seventh had three guys in asylums and the Second had none, but those figures are hardly statistically significant. Basically the numbers are very close to being identical.

I wouldn't call the number of either sick or confined "high" although I don't know what would have been "normal" in cavalry regiments. A business today probably wouldn't think 26 people calling in sick, or some still being sick, from a staff of 900 was excessive.

In 1866, when the Seventh was authorized and being formed, most of the officers were not present from the beginning. I seem to recall that there were actually a few infantry officers in command of some of the companies, some of them nominally commanding more than one. I have a source for this information, and will look it up for you. I'll try to post it later today. BTW I think some of the companies may have existed only on paper, without any bodies filling the rosters; but I'll see what I've got on the subject.

Before you are nice enough to protest, Elisabeth, I realize that I don't have to do this, but you seem so interested, and ask such interesting questions, that I can't not help, if I am able to do so.

Gordie

[rch]

Harpskiddie,

Were there any tranfers of 1st Lts. to command companies in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Cavalry Regiments as there were in the 7th?

I can't remember where I saw it, but I recall reading that 1st Lts. and I suppose 2nd Lts. had no claim to command the company they were assigned to if the Capt. was absent. The regimental commander could assign any 1st Lt. to command a company and did not have to pay attention to seniority in doing it.

According to Charles K. Mills in "Rosters from the 7th U.S. Cavalry Campaigns," Hodgson commanded Co. B on the Black Hills Expedition, in spite of the presence of Godfrey, Gibson, and Mathey. It's not clear if any of those officers were serving a wing adjutants.

Elisabeth,

It appears from Mills' pamphlet and "Of GarryOwen In Glory" that the early history of the 7th is pretty confusing. The act creating the regiment apparently became law on 28 Jul 1866. On 27 Aug 66 Maj. John W. Davidson of the 2nd Cav. was ordered to begin the organization of a new regiment using subalterns from his regiment. That work began on 10 Sep 66. According to Mills, Davidson used at least 9 Capts. and Lts. from the 2nd and 3rd Cav. These officers were to remain on duty until at least one new 7th officer joined the company.

The new regiment was officially designated the 7th Cav. and the appointments of Smith, Custer, and Gibbs were announced on 23 Nov 66. Offocers began to arrive before this announcement.

Except for Custer who arrived on 3 Nov, the new officers didn't begin to arrive until mid Nov. Davidson remained in command of the regiment through 25 Nov. Smith took command on the 26th.

Mills lists Custer's classmate, Henry E. Noyes, as commanding at one time or another Companies A, F, G, and I. Some of the other officers also commanded more than one company. It's possible that whenever the companies' books were opened the real organization proceeded a little slower and Davidson's officers moved from one company to another.

rch

[harpskiddie]

RCH: you're right on the money!! Thanks for saving me a lot of time.

Elisabeth: I'll only add that some of the companies were actually transferred from Fort Riley before many of the Seventh's officers had arrived. Companies A,B,C,D,E and F were organized 10 September; G and H 17 September; I, K and L 30 September and M 22 December. The first Seventh officer to arrive was Major Alfred Gibbs on 6 October, Custer was next on 3 November.

B Company was transferred to Fort Lyon 27 November with only its Captain, William Robeson having reported [14 November]. C company went to the same destination the same date, with only 1st Lt. Matthew Berry being for duty [16 November]. E went to Fort Hays 23 October, but none of its officers had reported. F went to Fort Harker on 18 October, also with none of its officers. G went to the same place at the same time, again with none of its officers present, I was transferred to Fort Wallace 30 November, with Captain Myles Keogh [16 November]. K went to Fort Dodge 27 November, with Captain Robert W. West [16 November] and L shipped out to Fort Morgan 31 December with Captain Michael Sheridan and 1st Lt. Lee Gillette.

Since the enlisted strength at the end of September was reported at 882 men, it's obvious that the officers of the Second Cavalry [there was one from the Third] had their hands full, especially poor old Noyes [see RCH above].

RCH: As far as I can tell, and I'm pretty sure of this, all of the lieutenants who commanded companies, including the 2nd Lts., were commanding the companies to which they were normally assigned.

Gordie

[elisabeth]

Gordie, rch, this is magnificent stuff. I must print it out and mull it over.

Interesting to learn that L only went to Fort Morgan on 31 December, as the Langellier/Cox/Pohanka Keogh book has Mike Sheridan travelling west with Keogh. (P. 103.) They're both writing indignant notes to Custer from camp near Fletcher, Kansas (later Fort Hays?) on November 21; Keogh takes over Fort Wallace on November 30, as you say; Sheridan and L then take a whole month to go on to Morgan? Heavy snows may have delayed their departure, I suppose; and it says that Sheridan comandeered five of Keogh's wagons, which could have slowed them down ...

There's a New York Times clipping from January 13th 1867 which refers to Keogh having been present at the Fort Zarah conference -- which I believe was November 8th or thereabouts? I'd assumed he and Sheridan had taken it in, as it were, en route to Wallace and Morgan. But that 16 November reporting date puts a different complexion on the matter -- unless I've got the conference date wrong. I'll check. Could be an interesting episode that we know nothing about?

[Have now found the date. One source says November 10th; but a primary source, the Indian agent at Fort Zarah himself, implies it was either the 12th and 13th, or just the 13th. The distribution of goods, which the newspaper piece implies Keogh also saw, was November 14th. None of which is important in a way, but it would be nice to know exactly what the 7th's involvement in this event was ...]

[harpskiddie]

elisabeth: I neglected to show the joining dates for Sheridan and Gillette. They were 26 November and 29 December respectively. So it is possible that Sheridan rode with Keogh. The problem with the source is that it is not specific about the dates as regards the moves of the companies, It may be that the "To Wallace 30 November 1866" means the effective date of transfer, not the date they departed, or even the date they arrived.

As to Keogh being at the distribution of goods, well these guys were all somewhere before they arrived to assume their duties . Prior to his promotion and assignment to the 7th, he had been with the 4th Cavalry but I don't know where he was stationed. Perhaps his journey to Riley was interrupted by a stop along the way at Zarah, or maybe he was asked, or even ordered to attend. My principal interest is the Little Horn, and I don't do any in-depth research into the 1866 to 1875 period, except to get a general feel for the times, the Army, the Indians etc.

Now, here's a good question for you, being such a Keogh expert, and one I've not seen raised anywhere [which is not to say it hasn't been]. Since both Keogh and Benteen were commissioned as Captains to date from 28 July 1866, and since both had received brevets to Lieutenant-Colonel to date from 2 March 1867, why was Benteen the "Senior Captain?" Was it simply because his name came before Keogh's alphabetically? Or was it because of the extra brevet to Colonel that Benteen got, to date from 13 August 1868? Maybe those "useless brevets" as I've seen them described in some threads, were not so useless after all. Custer certainly made good use of his in 1868. Have fun digging.

Gordie

[rch]

Gordie,

How could I have overlooked Alfred Gibbs?

He was a member of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles when they earned the nickname "Brave Rifles." Later he was one of those Army of Potomac cavalry brigade commanders who you don't hear much about after Merritt and Custer were promoted to division command. He is one of the officers of the 7th Cavalry I'd like to know more about than can be found in Heitman.

It appears that Davidson was stuck doing the paperwork as regimental commander while Custer was excercising some responsibilities unofficially. It also seems that the official annoucement of the regiments senior field officers by the War Department had to wait until all three had been offered the appointments and their acceptances had been received and that official assumption of command had to wait on the arrival of the announcement. They also must have known unofficially that the new regiment Davidson was commanding would be the 7th.

Is there any complete list on who the original Capts. of the 7th were? When new regiments were formed the Capts. were assigned to companies by seniority. The senior Capt. was assigned to Company A, the next senior to B, and so on. That would have made the senior Capts. Hamilton and Robeson. Original appointments could be made form the Volunteers, civilian life (former volunteer officers), or from the Regular Army without regard to seniority.

Even though Yates was not officially appointed to Capt. in the 7th until the summer of 1867, his appointment must have been considered an original appointment since he was promoted from 2nd Lt. This is similiar to Morrow's promotion to 3rd Maj of the 9th Cav. even though he was a very junior Capt.

Besides Morrow it seems that the only two original Capts of the 7th to be promted to Maj. were first Benteen of Co. H and then Sheridan of Co. L.

According to August Kautz one officer was all that was really needed to run a company and if you could always be sure that a Capt. would be present, you wouldn't need Lts. at all. So 1st and 2nt Lts. were a kind of built -in redundancy. To a certain extent the same thing applies to field grade officers, though they came in handy when the companies were parceled out to various posts and assignments.

re: Recruits

In late Oct - early Nov, 1868 Benteen was detailed to go to Ft. Harker and bring back 200 reruits and 300 horses. On his way back he had to fight an engagement with those recruits. I wonder how many of the recruits were later at the Washita.

rch

[harpskiddie]

rch: Mills' Rosters should give the names of the original officers, and what's missing there, if anything, will probably be in his Washita roster. The only way you could determine hpow many of those recruits participated, would be to have a list of their names, and then compare that to the company returns for the period. Lotsa luck.

BTW Benteen was promoted into the 9th Cavalry, which I find ironic, since he had once turned down the opportunity to be Lt. Colonel of a negro regiment [infantry I think] to join the 7th as a Captain. Of course, Custer had turned down the chance to be Colonel of such a regiment, preferring to remain a Captain pending appointment. Anything that happened to Mikey Sheridan has to have been questionable. Do you know if he ever joined the regiment to which he was promoted? Or did he stay as an aide to his brother with an even higher rank?

Gordie