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Post by welshofficer on Jul 12, 2015 6:10:56 GMT -6
Incompetent company leadership was a major cause of the LBH defeat. The companies that stand out are, in order, F, I, C, G. Evidence shows that the enlisted men fought well. The officers were very bad, and the NCOs made numerous raw errors. The 7th at LBH showed a performance well behind any other unit in the US Army 1865-1898. One of the challenges of this fight is determining why this unit performed so badly, compared to its peers. If every regiment in the Army routinely lost 2-300 dead per engagement, then we can say the 7th was an average unit. But no regiment was as useless as the 7th Cavalry. The officers of this unit performed far behind their peers. Montrose,
I am not sure that I would place G as better than E, but that regiment seemed to be reliant on company level performance (no doubt the product of dispersal and constabulary duties including reconstruction) and the wing that went with GAC left much to be desired in its performance.
WO
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Post by Yan Taylor on Jul 12, 2015 6:37:42 GMT -6
I wonder if the 7th had a pecking order with Custer's favorites getting the best companies, E, F, L and C seem likely candidates;
Smith, Yates, TWC and Calhoun.
One for you military people, do Infantry battalions or regiments have a marquee company who they because out perform the others in training get all the hard jobs on the field?
Ian.
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Post by quincannon on Jul 12, 2015 7:30:10 GMT -6
Yes and no Ian. Commanders will gravitate to which of their subordinate commanders they have the most confidence in if there is a particularly hard job in store. That being said the confidence they have involves both the personality and individual leadership capabilities of that subordinate commander which in turn translates into the training level and ability of the company itself.
Custer's was a regiment ruled by a cult of personality the likes of which you rarely see. I suppose it does exist elsewhere, but I have never run across it anywhere that approaches the rampant existence of the 7th Cavalry under Custer.
The obvious caution is that if you use that favored one too often, there will come a time when you send them to the well once to often, and you will destroy the tool you most favor.
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Post by welshofficer on Jul 13, 2015 16:49:15 GMT -6
I wonder if the 7th had a pecking order with Custer's favorites getting the best companies, E, F, L and C seem likely candidates; Smith, Yates, TWC and Calhoun. One for you military people, do Infantry battalions or regiments have a marquee company who they because out perform the others in training get all the hard jobs on the field? Ian. Ian,
Remember that all the absences (M Sheridan, Ilsley, Hale, Tourtellote just at captaincy level) gave GAC considerable power to shape his key officer corps.
Lts Calhoun (C) and Smith (A) spring most easily to mind. Wasn't Smith an ADC to Gen Terry during the ACW...?
WO
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Post by tubman13 on Jul 13, 2015 17:04:31 GMT -6
W.O. Yes Smith was.
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