Company Organization of the 1876 Cavalry Regiment
The Seventh Cavalry was made up of twelve companies. In spite of what Hollywood/TV would have you believe, Companies is the correct usage. Even the Artillery Regiments called their units companies instead of batteries. The terms troop and battery were in common use during this period. You would see written orders to "Commanding Officer of Company G" for example, while on the field the verbal order would be "G Troop will advance", of course this really depended on the senior officer involved!
The organization of the companies changed several times. There is the 1866, 1869, 1870, 1874 (twice!) and the 1875 reorganizations. The basic setup on July 28, 1866 provided for the following:
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
First Sergeant
Quartermaster Sergeant
5 Sergeants
8 Corporals
2 Trumpeters
2 Farriers & Blacksmiths
1 Saddler
1 Wagoner
78 Privates
The latest organization (the one used at LBH) was:
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
First Sergeant
5 Sergeants
4 Corporals
2 Trumpeters
2 Farriers & Blacksmiths
1 Saddler
1 Wagoner
54 Privates
At LBH the companies looked like this:
Company A: Captain Myles Moylan; one officer killed, one officer wounded, 8 enlisted killed, 6 enlisted wounded (1 died of wounds). Total=10 killed, 6 wounded out of 55 men on roster
Company B: Captain Thomas McDougall; 1 officer killed, 2 enlisted killed, 5 enlisted wounded. Total=3 killed, 5 wounded out of 71 men on roster
Company C: Thomas Custer; 3 officers killed, 36 enlisted killed, 4 enlisted wounded (1 died of wounds). Total=40 killed, 3 wounded out of 66 men on roster
Company D: Captain Thomas Weir; 3 enlisted killed, 3 enlisted wounded. Total 3 killed, 3 wounded out of 64 men on roster
Company E: Captain Charles Ilsley; 1 officer killed, 37 enlisted killed, 2 enlisted wounded. Total=38 killed, 2 wounded out of 61 men on roster
Company F: Captain George Yates; 1 officer killed, 36 enlisted killed. Total=37 killed out of 68 men on roster
Company G: Captain Joun Tourtellotte; 1 officer killed, 13 enlisted killed, 6 enlisted wounded. Total=14 killed, 6 wounded out of 69 men on roster
Company H: Captain Frederick Benteen; 1 officer wounded, 2 enlisted killed, 20 enlisted wounded (2 died of wounds). Total= 4 killed, 19 wounded out of 55 men on roster
Company I: Captain Myles Keeogh; 2 officers killed, 36 enlisted killed, 1 wounded (died of wounds). Total=39 killed out of 65 men on roster.
Company K: Captain Owen Hale; 5 enlisted killed, 3 enlisted wounded. Total 5 killed, 3 wounded out of 69 men on roster
Company L: Captain Michael Sheridan; 1 officer killed, 44 enlisted killed, 1 enlisted wounded. Total=45 killed, 1 wounded out of 69 men on roster
Company M: Captain Thomas French; 1 officer killed, 12 enlisted killed, 11 enlisted wounded (1 died of wounds). Total=14 killed, 10 wounded out of 63 men on roster
Quartermaster Employees present: 21 men fall into this category: comprised of 3 Guides, 2 Interpreters, 1 Correspondent, 13 Packers, 1 Scout, 1 accompanying civilian. Of these, 3 Guides, 2 Interpreters, 1 Correspondent, 1 Accompanying Civilian, and 1 Packer were killed and 1 Packer wounded. Total 8 killed, 1 wounded out of 21 men present
Indian Scouts present: 51 Crow, Ree, Dak and Sioux scouts rode with the 7th Cavalry. Of these 2 were killed and 2 were wounded.
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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