Keogh and Cook

[clw]

In a letter Graham wrote while working to discredit Goldin (p.271, The Custer Myth) he states...... "There is, I think, no doubt that Cook and Keogh rode to the river with Reno, and then turned back." He goes on to elaborate saying this is supported by Girard's testimony that he passed them on their way back to Custer while he was on his way to catch up with Reno, having been delayed because his horse fell. I have some questions you all might be able to help me with.

1. Is the fact this did happen generally accepted?

2. Was this just Keogh and Cook as individuals or did they have a small detachment with them?

3. Where do you think Reno was when Keogh and Cook rejoined Custer?

[PhillyBlair]

clw -- I'm not at home and don't have any references with me, but brief answers follow. Someone will likely provide more....

1. Is the fact this did happen generally accepted?

Yes. Someone's narrative or testimony (Godfrey?) recalled part of Custer's order that "Myles Keogh is going in with the advance."

2. Was this just Keogh and Cook as individuals or did they have a small detachment with them?

I'm not sure about the "detachment," but I doubt it. I believe their job was to gather intelligence and report back to Custer.

3. Where do you think Reno was when Keogh and Cook rejoined Custer?

It had to be before his charge, but not much before it. Girard was able to cross the river and tell Cooke that the Indians were coming out to meet them, and not running away. For this to take place two things would have been likely -- first, Cooke had to be within range of the river and not yet back to Custer. Second, it had to be before the serious fighting began because Girard was able to get back to Reno in time for that.

[crzhrs]

And the info Girard passed onto Cooke who undoubtedly told Custer must have caused a change in plans for Custer. Rather than Indians running, they were making a stand. Did Custer feel most of the warriors would then be at the lower end of the village or heading for it? Did Custer change his support to Reno then or did he decide to go further down stream and hopefully catch the end of the village undefended and capture noncoms?

Did Custer then feel Reno would be able to handle the warriors with only 125 +/- men. If Custer was informed of Indians making a fight of it why didn't he send a message to Benteen and tell him?

It seems Benteen was in the dark for the most important stages of the battle. When Custer ordered Reno to attack fleeing Indians/village and when he was informed that Indians were not running but making a stand. By the time Custer did send a message to Benteen it was cryptic with no info as to what was happening, leaving Benteen to think everything was going OK.

[elisabeth]

For info, it's Reno himself who quotes Cooke's remark: "We are all going in with the advance, and Myles Keogh is coming too". Here's a version of it:
www.astonisher.com/archives/museum/marcus_reno_little_big_horn.html

And Edgerly says in Custer in 76 that he "heard from several officers" that they were there (though of course wasn't there himself, so it's second hand). A lot of enlisted men deny all knowledge of their presence -- which perhaps reinforces the likelihood that it was just them as individuals. A detachment of any size probably would have been noticed.

From Reno's account, they were riding alongside him (presumably he was at the front of the formation? do we know?) until he reached the ford; his attention was then given to getting the men across, and he says he didn't see them again -- i.e. didn't see them go. But there's another account somewhere, I forget where, that has Cooke helping to organise the men for the crossing, so they definitely must have gone as far as Ford A.

If Reno's version is correct -- and there seems to be no benefit to him in making it up -- the original intention must have been for them to go in with him. (That's also Edgerly's impression, from what he heard.) Same as with Wallace, and the scouts, perhaps: "don't hang back with the coffee-coolers", get a first taste of the action. An indulgence. If so, Custer must have already recalled them somehow -- presumably by messenger, as a "recall" bugle-call would have stopped Reno's entire advance -- before getting Girard's message or the subsequent two messages from Reno. That suggests he'd already decided not to support from the rear, but to go north. From Kanipe's "warriors" sighting? Or from Bouyer telling him about a northern ford? Or what? I guess we'll never know.

Tony on this board has reminded us of a CW occasion when Custer (with Yates along) cleverly drew the Confederates to defend one ford while he sneaked round and attacked by another. Not impossible that his memory of that success might have influenced him here? Because even without the messages, he must surely have been able to see the dust raised by warriors, and to conclude that a pretty stout defence was being mounted. That might have been enough to make him switch plans ...?

[clw]

As I have kept reading I've found it more clear. On p. 293, Graham writes a summary of the battle following Martini's affidavit....

"The Adjutant, Lt. Cook, and Capt. Keogh, both of whom were killed with Custer, rode to the river with Reno's command. At the river bank (about 2:30) the scouts saw the Sioux coming up the valley to meet Reno, and Girard, who had not yet crossed over, rode back, overtook Cook, then on his way back to Custer (who was still following), and reported to him that the Sioux were coming in large numbers to meet Reno. Cooke said he would report the fact at once to Custer. This happened about 2:45.

It was at this moment, or very soon after, as it seems to me, that Custer's plan took form. The Indians were coming toward Reno, who would meet them on the plain. By dashing down the river, he would cut in behind them, and hit them from the rear......"

The part I was missing is the part in yellow. I didn't realize Custer followed Reno for a time before turning back. I was trying to picture Keogh and Cook following down the east side of the river. But they apparently rejoined him before he started north.

Interesting about the point of Custer forming a battle plan at this point in time. Evidently Graham thinks he was following "in support of the whole outfit" until he received the report from Keogh and Cook. Think Graham is right? Follows with Tony's thoughts.

[elisabeth]

clw,

Well spotted -- but I'm not wholly convinced he is right. Martini on p. 289 says "we followed [Reno] for a few hundred yards, and then swung to the right, down the river". "A few hundred yards" would mean they'd changed direction well before Reno reached the river, and certainly before Cooke/Keogh could return with any report. Martini's not infallible, of course, but he's all we've got ...

[clw]

Elizabeth, I'm going to back to look today sometime. I know I read an account of Custer following Reno other than Martini's, but I can't remember who's it was.

Favorite quote from Graham.... The neophyte who attempts to solve any one of the numerous puzzles with which the Battle of the Little Bighorn fairly teems, frequently finds himself in a state of mental fog. Ya think?

[elisabeth]

Spot on!