Dear Editor
Regarding an article in the Aug. 7, 2024 edition of the Moose Jaw Express and historically accurate information regarding Custer and the Seventh U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
The article written by Richard Dowson caught my interest. The article says regarding George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of Little Big Horn, “Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his seventh cavalry were all killed.”
Then as now, “Gen.” Custer is an enigma, seems people either loved or hated him — his troopers loved him — with little or no middle ground.
We’ve visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana more than once and the information I have is mostly from that source and Encyclopedia Brittanica.
The Seventh Cavalry is the “Seventh Regiment of the U.S. Cavalry,” a regiment in the United States that consists of two or more battalions and forms a basic element of a division. In other words, a lot of men, a lot more than those who died with Custer. Custer divided the seventh into four segments, the pack train with ammunition and supplies (125 men) commanded by Captain Fred Benteen and three companies (140 men) commanded by Major M. Reno. Lastly, five companies (210 men) were led by Custer himself and died to a man with him, not the whole 600.
Major Reno and Cpt. Benteen and a number of their men survived defending a high hill known as Reno Hill.
So contrary to the article, there were many Seventh Cavalry survivors of the Little Bighorn battle that were not “all killed.” That group, (210 men) did all die with Custer but not the whole Seventh Cavalry.
In the interest of historical accuracy, I thought the readers may be interested in this information.
Vincit Omnia Veritas and May the Force be with you,
Stewart Godfrey
P.S. Since 1963 “the regiment” is no longer a tactical unit in the U.S. military
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
