Little Big Horn, A Study of a Cavalry Regiment in the Indian Wars

[dragoon500ly]

I do find it interesting that Major Reno wasn't court martial afterwards, but considering how many Officers in the Army felt about GAC. There were many who felt he only got to his position by luck and hadn't really earned his way to position he held in the war and lack the experience of the post Civil War Army that held too.

Reno called for and was granted a Court of Inquiry, this court was little more than a dog-and-pony show, carried out by career military officers who wanted nothing more than to white-wash the entire LBH episode. Aided by the effort by the Seventh's remaining officers to avoid disgrace the unit. Their stories differed from reports made at the time, the only testimony against Reno was made by several of the civilian packers whose testimony was dismissed.

The finding of the court was as follows: "The conduct of the officers throughout was excellent, and while subordinates, in some instances, did more for the safety of the command by brilliant displays of courage than did Major Reno, there was nothing in his conduct which requires animadversion (criticism or censure) from this Court."

It was later discovered that one of the Courts officers Colonel Wesley Merritt had "closeted with the Recorder alone for several hours, and, it is understood, did most of the work of the decision, the Recorder having no voice save to present the case on trial."

Merritt had hated Custer since their days in the Cavalry Division of the Army of the Potomac and there was little doubt among the handful of Custer supporters that he had taken full advantage to blacken the name of his old rival.