It was pretty obvious to everybody, even some outside the regiment, that Benteen hated Custer.
The regimental officers were divided in their loyalty to their commander. One group made up of Custer’s family and friends, another group who felt little or no loyalty to him at all.
If I had been Custer, I would have transferred Benteen, for both our sakes.
Major Reno is another that I might have tried to replace. Between the bottle and His brooding personality, he had few friends as it was.
Seniority be damned, I think probably Miles Keogh was arguably the most capable and trustworthy of all the officers. At least that’s the impression I have gotten from my reading. The fact that 3 subordinate sergeants died defending him says a lot.
As to the original topic of this thread, I know there are several other Custerphiles among our members. There are several with much higher knowledge than mine, and I thought someone could point me in the right direction.
7mm
I have become interested recently in the Custer story and now the whole Indian campaign. Shrapnel furthered that interest. I sent him a PM and he graciously gave me his time on the topic. There is a lot to wade through.
I have wondered the same as you on why he didn't move Benteen and Reno. My guess is he was confident on his own ability and also thought Benteen and Reno would do their duty as professionals regardless of their animosity. I would think Custer would have seen that type of issue throughout is tenure and think it beneath him to show concern.
It is all in all a story for the ages.
