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Post by Allen Wiener on May 12, 2011 20:15:15 GMT -5
Chuck - that's a good analysis. My view has been that Custer wasn't thinking that much about the ground where he left Calhoun and Keough because he planned to attack as soon as Benteen arrived. By the time he realized the game was up, the warriors had finished off Calhoun and Keough, so it was too late to go to Nye-Cartwright. I agree - the warriors determined where he finished up by default.
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Post by loucapitano on May 14, 2011 11:43:37 GMT -5
Chuck, from what I've read, the recent archaeological digs of the battfield seem to support your analysis. The Indians forced Custer's movements. Other analysis suggests that Custer was so offensively minded, he was unable to swing over to defence until it was too late. Probably when he saw Keogh and Cahoun's troops routed.
We can only imagine if Custer expected to see Benteen's men come charging over the hills to his rescue. He gave the order to "come quick." But Benteen countermanded it to support the desperate Reno command. We can only guess if Benteen could have saved Custer or just add to the death toll of the 7th.
What I always found interesting was the shock the Reno/Benteen command displayed when it was reported that Custer was wiped out. They had to know that whatever happened to Custer could not be good given the silence of the battlefield the night of June 25th and the renewed Indian attack on their position. There was much testimony given after the battle, but it always surprised me of their shock of Custer's massacre. Maybe they believed in Custer's Luck.
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Post by Chuck T on May 14, 2011 12:42:23 GMT -5
Lou and Allen: All combat is a series of actions and reaction related to each other by circumstance.
Allen, if you will get out the old pictomap, which I assume you carry in your back pocket at all times, look at the enlarged Custer portion. Key in on the words "The Bend". Now look from that point to the slightly lower right and you will see the indications of at least six markers in Calhoun Coulee. My friend Britt recently visited this place, had an adverse encounter with "Jake", and tells me that these folks are Company C men without doubt, apparently fleeing from Finckle-Finley. Now look at the Company E line where you see a cluster near the Lord marker. This positioning suggests to me that these two events were related in space and time. It further solidifies the idea, at least for me, that Deep Ravine was the axis of advance for a great number of hostiles early on. E going to the aid of C may very well explain the last minute attempted escape stories of Indian witnesses. I have always thought that story "of escape" was phony or misinterpreted. Men seeking to escape do not go low, they go high. You see this played out on every cop show there is on TV. Height is the illusion of advantage. Now if we reverse this retreat into an attempt to support it makes all kinds of sense. Now if hostiles in Deep Ravine first encountered C remnants, then part of E and these same hostiles gained the top of Battle Ridge, crossed it an turned on I in the swale, in one continued stream of events, I think you can see how it changes a lot about how we may think things unfolded. Not two seperate actions where Keogh (C-I-L) and Yates (E-F) are finished off sepeartely but both parts of the same whole.
I will be in SA between 1-7 June visiting, my daughter and the grandkids. My son-in-law is still in Iraq. Let me know of any errands you want me to run.
Lou: If you are deep into Custer write (Superintendent, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument P.O. Box 39 Crow Agency, Montana 59022) away for one of these maps or call 406-638-2612. Allen has the current price but it is less than ten bucks. Be sure to tell them you want the pictomap and not the battlefield reproduction map. That one is not bad either but the pictomap is a treasure.
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 14, 2011 14:39:48 GMT -5
The full title of the pictomap is "Little Bighorn Battlefield Map: Archeological Finds and Historical Locations," produced by Mike Bonafede and dated 1999 (Loveland, CO). I paid $8 for it last fall and Chuck is right; it's invaluable once you spend some time with it. I also found it the perfect companion to Fox's book.
I think the other map Chuck is talking about is "Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument: Monuments and Markers on the Custer Field," which costs 50 cents and is worth having.
In addition to the free map/brochure that is given out by the NPS at the battlefield ("Little Bighorm Battlefield"), I picked up several booklets that cost $1 each, which cover various parts of the battlefield:
1. "Deep Ravine Trail" 2. "Reno-Benteen Entrenchment Trail" 3. "Custer National Cemetary"
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