Here is another War Horse Hero who survived the Battle of Greasy Grass aka Custer’s Last Stand. This is a reblog from 2017
The Battle of Greasy Grass was Custer’s Last Stand.
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4 responses to “The Battle of Greasy Grass was Custer’s Last Stand.”
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Cavalry horses were taught how to lie down and provide cover for their trooper when a dismount order was given. The horse losses could be significant during an engagement. During the Indian Wars, one of the primary objectives of the Native Americans was to take as many horses when the dismounted troopers fought on foot. The horses would be kept to the rear, controlled by three or four troopers to control upwards of a hundred horses, which is no small feat.
The Custer battlefield is more than Last Stand Hill. It is pretty much spread out across 4-5 miles of open prairie, which hasn’t changed much since the 1870s. There is no real estimate of how long the battle was fought. Estimates range from 90 minutes to a half day. The way the markers on the battlefield are set-up, it tends to favor the half day estimate as dismounted troopers fought in classic skrimish lines of the day, with the intensity of the fighting ebbing and flowing. They do know they lost most of the horses within the first 30-45 minutes, not as battlefield loss but cutting them loose.
Yes, I’ve been there.
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Thanks David for this extra information. I have been there too but did not know all these things about the battle.
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Many interesting issues, but in need of some further illustration. An estimated maximum of 90 horses from Custer’s batallion died during the battle, or were so badly wounded that they later were euthanized by approaching troopers. The rest were captured as trophies by native warriors, and there was only one survivor from the whole batallion, Captain Keogh’s ‘Comanche’.
There certainly are real estimates of how long the battle lasted, as witness testimonies from natives who were present say that it ‘lasted no longer than it takes to smoke a pipe’, or ‘as long as it takes to eat a meal’, possibly meaning not much more than half an hour. This refers to the main battle where Custer’s batallion was wiped out, the so called last stand. However, the companies following Major Reno and Captain Benteen held their ground on Reno Hill basically through the rest of the day, but then the main warrior force was the occupied with rescuing their women, children and elders and move their camps.-
You obviously know more about this battle than I do. So There is nothing for me to add to your comment.
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