In a previous article, Custer's overall Little Bighorn plan was presented. This overall Little Bighorn plan, being different from what is typically presented as his plan, allows certain aspects of the battle of the Little Bighorn to be re-examined and re-interpreted. One such aspect of the battle that can now be re-examined is that of Custer's orders for Major Reno.

On June 25th, 1876, as General Custer headed toward the Little Bighorn River, he believed he was in the vicinity of the Sioux. He had already sent Captain Benteen to the left. Now, the battalion he was commanding, as well as the battalion that Major Reno was commanding, were traveling together in columns toward the river with Reno and his battalion on the left side.

About a mile from the river, Custer received word that the Indians were spotted straight ahead and running. This report implied that the Sioux were heading away from Custer, and it appears that they were headed northward. A few minutes after receiving this report, Custer would speak to Major Reno for the last time and give him one last set of orders.

According to Frederic Frances Girard, Custer told Reno: "You will take your battalion and try and overtake and bring them to battle, and I will support you" (Reno, 76). Shortly after this, Reno and Custer separated and took different paths toward the Little Bighorn River.

At face value, these orders of Custer's seem to be at odds with his overall Little Bighorn plan. After all, if Custer's overall plan was to move the Indians to the north - and they were already supposedly headed in that direction, then why would he order Reno to try and essentially stop them? Wouldn't that contradict his overall plan? While it may seem to contradict his overall plan, upon closer examination of his plan, it becomes clear that it doesn't.

First, in Custer's orders for his scouts the night before the Little Bighorn battle, Custer stated that "he didn't want any of the camps of the Sioux to escape him" (Reno, 76). Frankly, it seems likely that when the Sioux were reported to be headed away from Custer on the following day, he thought that the chances of some of the Sioux to escape had become rather high. Since his orders for Reno are to try and stop the flight of the Sioux, it appears that the orders for Reno are in keeping with this part of his overall plan.

Second, also in Custer's orders for his scouts the night before the Little Bighorn battle, Custer stated that "He wanted to get [all the Sioux camps] together and drive them down to the Yellowstone" (Reno, 76). What this communicates is that Custer wanted to gain some form of control over the Sioux as a whole and then control their movement north to the Yellowstone River. When it was reported to Custer that the Sioux were headed away from him, this movement was not being controlled by Custer - and it appears that having Reno try and overtake the Sioux and bring them to battle was an attempt to gain control. So again, Custer's orders for Reno do appear to be in keeping with his overall plan.

While Custer's orders for Reno on June 25th, 1876 may appear to contradict his overall plan, upon further examination, this does not appear to be the case. In Custer's orders for Reno, he appeared to be trying to gain control over the fleeing Sioux as a whole. This certainly appears to be a part of Custer's overall plan leading up the Little Bighorn battle.

What is also interesting is that this examination further suggests that Custer's main plan was not simply to win a military battle, but to move the Sioux. While Custer did order Reno to try and bring the Sioux to battle, this battle appears to be a means by which he could gain control of the Sioux as a whole and then move them under his control toward the Yellowstone.

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About the Author

Tim Kloos is an online advertising professional. He helps clients with their websites, online presence, and online advertising. If you need help with any of these, feel free to contact him via the contact page.

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He has also written a children's book set in the Old West.