Why was Lt Algernon Smith on LSH?

[mitchell]

Have not seen this subject discussed before. If it has my apologies. My thoughts on one of reasons for the total breakdown was one of distractions in command at inopportune times.
Lt. Algernon Smith Commanding Co. E was the man in the Buckskin Jacket that was shot and unhorsed at either Forb B or Ford D.
Most theories are Mark Kellogg was killed after Ford D recon. Who's to say Lt. Smith wasn't also hit at this time or earlier.
After recon on Ford D, Co. E under Lt. Sturgis providing overwatch on cemetery ridge for Co F and HQ Staff in swale by Deep ravine.
The pause is for Dr Lord to attend to a wounded Lt. Smith and possibly others. Lt. Smith was part of the Custer Clan.
So it's not out of the question that Custer would have been concerned. At this time in the battle everything is under control.
Maj. Reno has been thrown to the wolves and is keeping the natives occupied farther South.
Col. Keough is keeping the Natives back from Calhoun Hill to allow a path for Cpt. Benteen and the pack train to link up with the rest of the Battalion.
Women and children within reach on the other side of the Little Bighorn river. Custer and Tom,for that matter, have time to check on their friend, and rest the horses. Or so he thinks. Of course he is fatally mistaken.
The other distraction comes when Col. Keough is shot and unhorsed causing his staff to gather around to tend to their Commander's rather severe wound instead of controlling the situation.
No doctor is present. Dr. Lord is tending to Lt. Smith, Dr. Porter is with Reno's wounded and poor Dr. Dewolf is dead and scalped.
Calhoun did not bring the extra horse holders up in time to cover the south skirmish line after refusing the line to cover the distraction of Co. C collapse.
Thus allowing his position to be overrun from the Henryville sector. Did Keough consult with Calhoun about sending Co. C into Calhoun Coulee? If he did, then he was not wounded yet.
Keough had to have been hit right before or during Co. L's collapse and headlong retreat. Co. I was in the middle of dismounting when the Natives launched the massive counterattack form the eastern gullies.
If not, then why were there not more Co. I men on LSH? I believe the only men from Co. L,C on LSH were the horse holders who lost the reins on the other mounts. No man on foot ran that killing ground to LSH.
Custer realizes too late what has occurred. Only option is to get to LSH as soon as possible to accept any survivors from Col. Keough's collapse. Along with Lt. Smith temporarily attached to HQ Staff.
No cover on LSH. Co. F and HQ shoot their horses for barricade of some sort. Co. E exposed. Custer tells Mitch Boyer to take Lt Sturgis with Co. E and the rest of the mounted men to head for the river to find help
or to find better cover in Deep Ravine. Look at the terrain, there is no other place to go. Boyer is hit on the way and doesn't make it all the way. It is kind of a fact where he was found.
The last of the men are tracked down and killed inside Deep Ravine after LSH was overrun.
And that is why Lt. Algernon Smith was found on LSH.
 








 

[shan]

Mitchell, welcome to the board.

You raise an interesting point, and as you say, its one that's not much discussed.

For myself, I still have mixed feelings about the idea that Custer went to the fords D, but I'm gradually coming around to believing that it may well have happened. At first I thought it was pretty unlikely that he would have had the time and space to even think about undertaking such a foray, but then I've always wondered if those Indian tales about at least one man: possibly an officer, being hit and falling into the river at Ford B, might have really been talking about something that may have actually happened at ford D.

In other words, was this a case of the translators having simply mis-heard, or maybe being a bit lazy and doing a rather bad job of translating, or, much more likely, a number of later historians: both amateur and professional, who, having never heard of ford D at the time, naturally believed that the event must have happened at ford B.

Now as you will probably know, this has led many people to assume that the man who was hit was Custer himself, but the problem with that, and always has been, why would the command keep on heading North towards LSH, where they were eventually cornered and killed, rather than backtracking with his body towards the rest of the command, especially given that at this stage of of the battle, nothing much was happening, thus leaving them with the both time and opportunity to do so. Likewise, the same would have applied had the casualty been Smith, whom many, including myself for awhile, thought to be a far more likely candidate.

The only problem with it being Smith who fell at ford B, is that I can't imagine that they would have bothered to take a badly wounded man along with them whilst they roamed around the landscape trying to figure out what to do~ after all, apart from anything else, surely he would be a hinderance. No, had it been him, I think it far more likely that they would have arranged for him to be taken back to Reno or Benteen where, or so they assumed, he might have been out of harms way.

All of which makes it far more likely that he was the man the Indians talked about being wounded at the ford, excepting that it was ford D rather than B.

Other than that, I'm pretty much in agreement with you as to how things panned out.

Shan

[noggy]

When discussing why such and such and who were found exactly where they were found, I`m reminded by this scene in an otherwise mediocre movie:


Swords in fields

I can think of several reasons why Smith`s body was found on LSH. Some probable, some not, but still not impossible   To me that is one of the appealing things about the battle.

Hope to see you posting more here, mitchell.

All the best,
Noggy

[Yan Taylor]

It does make sense to move to high ground to regroup, so I will go along with the move back to battle ridge extensions, which also makes a move to ford D more realistic.
I don't see any value in leaving any troops in between Blumber ridge and Cemetery ridge, I mean it just takes troopers out of the battle to guard a piece of real estate which has no value, they had moved past Calhoun hill and Custer hill on their way to mount an attack further north, so to Custer the full length of battle ridge was just a ridge back to hide his advance and had no other value.
Do you also think that Custer would be expecting Benteen to drag a pack train over that same route whilst over 120 men sat and waited for them? They could have had a Bar-BQ waiting for them, the battle in the valley would be well over and Custer would be watching the village escape.

Hi geir how are they hanging!

Ian

[noggy]

Apr 21, 2020 13:14:50 GMT -6 Yan Taylor said:

Hi geir how are they hanging!

Right about where they should, Ian!

[custermania]

I think Custer was shot early either at Ford b or D. I think it’s simple Custer knew the only way to win was get in the village. Get in between warriors and woman’s and I don’t think they would fire at woman in sight. I also believe he was shot early. Knowing Custer no way he doesn’t make every attempt and trying to cross. From Indian testimony it doesn’t sound like there was a lot of firing at Fords till back up came. So why wouldn’t Custer plow through? I can’t recall one time Custer retreated in the past. Gall and others weren’t even by the Ford. Gall was fighting Reno no way he could see the Ford crossing especially at B.