[dragoon500ly]

[QUOTE=Gamer;28294]Only an extreme lack of real research into the battle nor actually seeing the battlefield can one come to that conclusion.
The accusations of Misconduct came from the 'Custer clique' of the regiment the ones overly loyal to him.[QUOTE]

Well now, let me see...I took part in some of the digging on the Battlefield in the 1983 archeological survey. I've toured the various sites three times in the last 7 years. And I have a personal intrest in the battle as well, one of my ancestors, Captain George W.M. Yates. commanding Company F died with the Custer Battalion. So yes, I have researched the battle and the movements leading up to it in some detail.

I have never considered myself a fan of GAC, his orders leading up to that day certainly were not made with the best of judgement. But that does not excuse the misconduct of Reno and Benteen. Reno's conduct during his attack are, by themselves, sufficient grounds to cashier him from the Army. His orders were to take his battalion and attack the valley villages, driving the Indians up the Little Big Horn Valley. When he saw the true extent of the villages, he halted his command and formed a skirmish line across the prairie.

Indian testimony confirms the utter surprise of Reno's attack and their own concerns with escaping. That's right, the Indians stated that they were ready to run. That is until Reno halted his command and give the Indian chiefs time to rally their warriors and launch their own counterattack. Up to this moment in time, the Indians were not aware of Custer's battalion.

A brisk fire took place until a group of Indians were moving down a gully, threatening his horses. Reno pulled Company G from his line and sent them towards the river, leaving his skirmish line spread too thinly to be effective. He then moved his men back to the woods where his horses were sheltered. Here his men rallied and kept up a stubborn fire that kept the Indians at bay.

By about 330pm, Reno had lost several killed and wounded, but was holding his position. It is at this moment that he made the decision to fall back towards the bluffs. Rather than using a bugle call, he called out his order, resulting in that some of his men heard the order and others did not. In this mass of confusion, the firing of his men slackened enough to allow the Indians to attack. It was at this moment that Bloody Knife, one of Custer's scouts, was shot in the head sending brains and blood splattering into Reno's face.

Reno panicked. He ordered his men to dismount and then to remount. He then spurred his horse and took off for the river bluffs. He never issued an order to retreat, he simply ran. Reno's battalion broke and it became a every an for himself rout.

The exact distance of the rout runs about a half mile to a full mile, depending on which crossing was used by the troops. In the panic, some forty or so of Reno's men were left behind, on foot. Most of them were able to seek cover in the woods, but several were killed in the aftermath.

To add insult to injury, Major Reno was the first man up the bluff to the sight that became the Reno-Benteen Defense Site. When Dr. Porter, an acting surgeon, approached the gallant major and mentioned that the men were badly demoralized by the rout. Reno is reputed to have snapped back "That was a cavalry charge, sir!" It took less than half an hour, and Reno was out of the fight.