The Strategy of Defeat at the Little Big Horn: A Military and Timing Analysis of the Battle

by Frederic C. Wagner III

Overview

The battle that unfolded at the Little Big Horn River on June 25, 1876, marked a watershed in the history of the Plains Indians. While a stunning victory for the Sioux and Cheyenne peoples, it initiated a new and vigorous effort by the U.S. government to rid the west of marauding tribes and to realize the ideal of "Manifest Destiny."

While thousands of books and articles have covered different aspects of the battle, few if any have analyzed the tactics and chronology to arrive at a satisfactory explanation of what befell George Armstrong Custer and the 209 men who died alongside him. This volume seeks to explain the circumstances culminating in the near-destruction of the 7th Cavalry Regiment by a close examination of timing, setting every event to a specific moment based on accounts of the battle's participants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476618814
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/26/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Frederic C. Wagner III served as an officer both in the U.S. Army and the New York Army National Guard. He was a decorated Vietnam veteran and worked for 22 years on Wall Street, mostly as a commodities broker. He lived in Pleasantville, New York.
The late Frederic C. Wagner III served as an officer both in the U.S. Army and the New York Army National Guard. He was a decorated Vietnam veteran and worked for 22 years on Wall Street, mostly as a commodities broker. He lived in Pleasantville, New York.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
1. Drums Along the Rosebud
2. The Busby Bend
3. Davis Creek and the Divide
4. The Flip Side of the Coin
5. Plan A: Tullock’s Creek
6. Crossing the Divide
7. Benteen’s Left Oblique
8. A Change of Plans
9. The Little Big Horn Valley
10. 3,411 and Retreat
11. A List of Messengers
12. Into the Tunnel
13. Ford B: Attack or Reconnaissance
14. Scouts
15. “Benteen Is Coming!”
16. Custer Moves North
17. Hell in a Very Small Place
18. The Graveyard Watch
19. Too Late—Reno Follows
20. Designed to Win, Doomed to Fail
The Timelines:
A. June 24: To the Busby Camp and Varnum’s Departure; 5:00 a.m.–9:20 p.m.
B. June 24–25: Busby Camp to Halt One; Sunset, 8:50 p.m.–Sunrise, 5:10 a.m.
C. June 25: Halt One to Custer’s Arrival at the Crow’s Nest; 3:41 a.m.–8:35 a.m.
D. The Curtiss Incident; 8:15 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
E. Officers’ Call—Crow’s Nest to the Divide; 8:35 a.m.–11:45 a.m.
F. Divide Crossing to the Flats; 11:45 a.m.–1:05 p.m.
G. Benteen’s Scout; 12:10 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
H. Custer/Reno Separation to Reno’s Dismount; 1:05 p.m.–1:36 p.m.
I. From Separation to 3,411; 1:05 p.m.–1:56 p.m.
J. The Valley Fight—Dismount to Retreat; 1:35 p.m.–2:23 p.m.
K. Scouts; 11:30 a.m.–4:35 p.m.
L. Reno’s Retreat to Benteen’s Arrival; 2:11 p.m.–3:05 p.m.
M. Boston Custer; 12:04 p.m.–2:42 p.m.
N. Messengers; 12:13 p.m.–2:41 p.m.
O. Benteen: Reno Creek to Reno Hill; 1:50 p.m.–3:05 p.m.
P. The Pack Train; 10:40 a.m.–4:17 p.m.
Q. Benteen’s Arrival to the Arrival of the Packs; 2:57 p.m.–4:17 p.m.
R. The Approach to 3,411 and Ford B; 1:38 p.m.–3:07 p.m.
S. Ford B to Calhoun Hill; 2:49 p.m.–3:44 p.m.
T. Calhoun Hill Deployment; 3:14 p.m.–3:37 p.m.
U. Keogh to Custer on Cemetery Ridge; 3:27 p.m.–3:58 p.m.
V. Cemetery Ridge to the End; 3:54 p.m.–4:40 p.m.
W. Warriors; 1:02 p.m.–5:14 p.m.
X. Weir Peaks and Return; 3:10 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Y. Stragglers; 12:42 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
Notes to Timelines
Appendix A. Place Names and Distances
Appendix B. Vegetation at the Little Big Horn
Appendix C. Marker Placement and Artifact Analysis
Appendix D. Indian Recollections of the Time the Battle Began
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

the clear product of exhaustive research and reflection that should serve as an example to others who attempt to analyze the Little Big Horn, decipher its sequence of events and explain its outcome...recommend”—The Battlefield Dispatch

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