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Post by dan25 on Sept 5, 2015 8:36:05 GMT -6
Was there any reason that Custer did not send a message to Terry or Gibbons that he found the village?
If Custer was the only unit actually searching, then Terry or Gibbons could have better positioned themselves to prevent any escape.
If everyone was searching, would that not have been even more of a reason to let them know?
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Post by fred on Sept 5, 2015 10:06:14 GMT -6
Was there any reason that Custer did not send a message to Terry or Gibbons that he found the village? If Custer was the only unit actually searching, then Terry or Gibbons could have better positioned themselves to prevent any escape. By the time Custer went off-- June 22-- they believed they knew where the village was. Scouts had indicated it was in the LBH valley, but the command thought the Indians would be moving up-valley, not down. Ironically, they would have been correct, had it not been for Indian scouts spotting plentiful game down the valley. The Indians actually reversed direction and moved down-river to where the battle took place... and they did it a day earlier. This makes Custer's departure from the Rosebud even worse, because if the Indians were indeed up the valley rather than down, he would have inserted himself between the village and Terry who wanted to position himself near the confluence of the Big Horn and LBH rivers. The move up Tullock's would have afforded Terry a much easier route to travel and he would have been in position a lot earlier than he was. It was planned for Custer to go all the way up the Rosebud, then cut west into the upper LBH valley. That way any Indians in that valley would be driven north (down-river) and into Terry's force. Now you can see my viewpoint as to why I believe Custer disobeyed his orders, regardless of their wording. It is intent that matters. "Montrose" knows even better than I do and he agrees. Best wishes, Fred. |
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Post by Jas. Watson on Oct 12, 2015 20:27:16 GMT -6
THANK YOU Fred! This is something I have been harping on for years...which absolutely seals our Boy General's disregard for orders, overall mission, and commander's intent. You have stated it much more concisely than I have in the past. To me this fact alone is pretty heard to argue with, gentlemanly complimentary language by Gen. Terry notwithstanding.
SW~
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