June 18 and June 19: Greased Wheels

[fred]

The wheels of decision are beginning to get cranked up. Reno has exceeded his orders-- or has he? (If we want to debate orders, now is the time to do so. While Terry's orders to Custer contained a caveat many use to let the Seventh's commander off the hook of responsibility, Reno's orders contained no such softener. Were Reno's actions in direct contravention of what was written or was something said that precluded him from doing what he did? Is "commission" in lieu of "omission" permissible? Do on-the-ground, on-the-fly circumstances enter the picture and are they permissible? Heady questions, wouldn't you think?)

Reno had not yet returned to receive his "gifts" of welcome from his superiors. What went on in the interim? What preparations had been made? And the plans... ?

[fred]

June 18: Reno covers 20 miles by noon and goes into camp on the Yellowstone, 3 miles from Gibbon.

June 19: By 4 p.m. Reno has traveled another 33 miles. The tortuous terrain forces his exhausted command to go into camp.

[elisabeth]

June 19: Reno sends a note to Terry. The note demonstrates a mind-blowing lack of presentational skills, offering no excuse/explanation/apology for his "disobedience" and announcing no benefit from same. Terry and Custer thus have an entire night to work up a head of steam against him, leading to his rough reception the following day ... his subsequent pariah status within the regiment ... and thus, arguably, to his loss of confidence on the 25th.

[conz]

Out of Bray:

"In the week following the Battle of the Rosebud, camps rode into the village daily, leaving the trail from the Rosebud scratched and overlain with hoofprints and travois tracks, until the village comprised about one thousand lodges."

Clair

[crzhrs]

The LBH Campaign (Sarf):

. . . some young warriors who had taken no part in the Rosebud fight rode out on the 18th to visit the battleground, the Sioux/Cheyenne prepared to move their village. Some of the inquisitive young warriors inspecting the battlefield found a fire's ashes above a place "where the ground was fresh" and dug up some dead soldiers tied in blankets. Afterward when "we got to the ridge we could see the soldiers of Three Stars retreating toward Goose Creek a long way off. A big dust was rising."

June 18: (Indian) Reinforcements started to ride down Ash Creek on the trail from the Rosebud and down the LBH River.

The "hostiles" were now starting to be joined by their reservation kin.

[clw]

from Command and General Staff College....

"Following Reno's reconnaissance, Terry intended to drive southward in parallel columns, Custer's cavalry on the Tongue and Gibbon's predominantly infantry force on the Rosebud. After ascending the Tongue for an appropriate distance, Custer's more mobile command would turn west toward the Rosebud and descend that creek to join Gibbon's force."

"While Reno failed to scout all of Mizpah Creek, he essentially followed Terry's orders until 15 June. After descending the Tongue River for only eight miles, he then decided to turn west to investigate enemy signs on the Rosebud. Although he disobeyed Terry's direct instructions by advancing up the Rosebud, Reno was able to determine that Terry's plan of parallel columns would not work; the Indians had already traveled beyond the area encompassed by Terry's pincer movement."

"The information generated by Reno's reconnaissance caused Terry to formulate yet another plan. While all of his forces gathered at the mouth of the Rosebud, he designed a second pincer movement similar to the first."

[tubman13]

I am siting in eastern SD this morning, and have just read the above. I have followed Fred's daily updates of 8 years ago with out skipping ahead, as I hate to have the ending of a good story spoiled.

Regards,
Tom

[herosrest]

Ducemus

There's a couple of things. Firstly, the scouts with six, nine companies. Why not just move the entire command. Had Reno followed instruction, when would he have returned to Terry. Had Terry simply moved his expedition towards Rosebud, the campaign might have resolved differently but of course that's a book in waiting.

The entire Terry column, could have been Reno's scout and thus, would the hostiles then have struck at Rosebud, as they did.

Terry had a plan of action which was updated by Reno, upon his return to the Yellowstone. The trail which Reno discovered was an old trail, already reported after discovery by Bradley, although Gibbon's dispatches are problematic in this respect. In truth, it was only when Bouyer came into Terry's presence, that accurate assessment of hostile movements and location became available to Terry, and hence..... Reno screwed up, royally.

Quite some interest in these trails and movement is developing for next summer, it should be an interesting ride. Was Keogh or Yates present?

Had Custer led the scout, or Terry led the entire column, do you think they either one, would have turned back to the Yellowstone.

I believe Bouyer was with Reno.

When all is cut and pasted, there is Terry's diary and he was not happy in the slightest with Reno. Forget about Custer's peevish annoyance at Reno, Terry had serious issues with the Major, in respect direct disobedience of his orders. That is noted record, regardless of subsequent opinion. In analysing Reno, you start with Terry. In regarding Terry, you begin with J.J. Reynolds and the Powder River strike on Two Moons camp. He was cashiered by Crook, over that mission and it was staple diet in officers circles. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_J._Reynolds This matter hung over the entire summer campaign.

Both Reno's scout and Terry's forced march of 25/26th and down Tulloch's, show how movement was handicapped by the wagon mounted Gatling guns. That with Reno was rendered unservicable with a broken axle and yoke, which left it sat upon the deck of the Far West during the entire remaining campaign until return to barracks for winter.