History Question: Who Replaced Custer After His Death?

[Smoke]

I've been looking all morning and can't find an answer.

Custer wasn't the official Commander of the Seventh US Calvary. That was Samuel Sturgis, Custer was second in command, I guess in modern terms he was the XO.

I ASSUME someone got promoted into that slot but I can't find who.

It appears Benteen and Reno were both transferred to other units.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ameridaddy]

From Wikipedia (caution here):
[Samuel D.] Sturgis was on detached duty as the Superintendent of Mounted Recruiting Service and in command of the Cavalry Depot in St. Louis, Missouri,[2] when parts of the 7th Cavalry were destroyed at the Battle of Little Big Horn (one of Sturgis's sons, Second Lieutenant James G. Sturgis, was also an officer with the 7th and was killed in that battle.) Samuel Sturgis then took personal command of the regiment and led the 7th Cavalry in the campaign against the Nez Percé in 1877. Sturgis and his soldiers headed off the Nez Percé and waited to attack them once they emerged from their passage through the wilderness of Yellowstone Park. The Indians deceived Sturgis with a feint and eluded him, continuing their flight northward toward Canada. Sturgis soon caught up with the Nez Percé but at the Battle of Canyon Creek, the Indians, although outnumbered two to one, again escaped from his grasp.[4]

Samuel D. Sturgis - Wikipedia

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Was this before or after he set up the annual rendevous?

 

[Smoke]

Samuel Sturgis then took personal command of the regiment and led the 7th Cavalry in the campaign against the Nez Percé in 1877.

Based on that I can't really say Custer was replaced. Sturgis was the commander before Custer died he just returned to the regiment afterwards.

I still wonder who stepped into Custer's "Second in command" position if anyone.

I'm guessing it wasn't recorded because it wasn't relevant

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

... although outnumbered two to one, again escaped from his grasp.

Sneaky Indians!

The Nez Perce tribe crossing rivers is still taught in logistics classes in military academies worldwide!

The Nez Perce were the developers of the Palomino breed of horses and were independently wealthy, making them the envy of many greedy White People! Just remember the phrase: We're from the Government, and we're here to help. Then ask the question: What are they helping themselves to?

Ivan

 

[THE PILGRIM]

A while back an old Boss of mine wrote a Book about Gen. Reno.
Reno, Nevada; Reno County, Kansas; Reno, Ohio; El Reno, Oklahoma; Reno, Pennsylvania; Fort Reno (Oklahoma); and Fort Reno Park in Washington, D.C. were named after him.

So I ask, is that the Reno who was there with Custer?
‘NO! Different Reno! Lots of folks ask that. ‘
Apparently there were more than one Reno!
Did any of them go Navy?

Remember Reno: A Biography of Major General Jesse Lee Reno Hardcover – January 1, 1996
by William F. McConnell (Author)

 

[Donna K]

Sneaky Indians!

The Nez Perce tribe crossing rivers is still taught in logistics classes in military academies worldwide!

The Nez Perce were the developers of the Palomino breed of horses and were independently wealthy, making them the envy of many greedy White People! Just remember the phrase: We're from the Government, and we're here to help. Then ask the question: What are they helping themselves to?

Ivan

Well said! The Nez Perce vowed not to fight, and due to their excellent tactics, despite adverse weather conditions, and not being prepared for a winter retreat, were able to keep that vow. Thank you so much for bringing that up! However, one small correction, it was the Appaloosa breed they propagated

 

[EPP]

Sneaky Indians!

The Nez Perce tribe crossing rivers is still taught in logistics classes in military academies worldwide!

The Nez Perce were the developers of the Palomino breed of horses and were independently wealthy, making them the envy of many greedy White People! Just remember the phrase: We're from the Government, and we're here to help. Then ask the question: What are they helping themselves to?

Ivan

I believe, its the Appaloosa that's associated with the Nez Perce people.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My brother is the horse guy! I remembered the had spots!

Sorry

Ivan

 

[Inusuit]

I think Roy Rogers developed the Palomino.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

The TO&E (as we would say today) of a Civil War/Indian Wars regiment was authorized a colonel, lieutenant colonel and major as field grade officers.
The "official" commander was Samuel D. Sturgis who was on detached duty in St. Louis. His son, 2LT James G. Sturgis was killed at the Little Big Horn.

 

[Smoke]

The TO&E (as we would say today) of a Civil War/Indian Wars regiment was authorized a colonel, lieutenant colonel and major as field grade officers.
The "official" commander was Samuel D. Sturgis who was on detached duty in St. Louis. His son, 2LT James G. Sturgis was killed at the Little Big Horn.

According to all the information I can find Sturgis never actually took command to the 7th Calvary until after Custer was dead. After Sturgis retook command of the regiment I'm sure somebody was promoted to lieutenant colonel or a lieutenant colonel was posted to that unit but it doesn't seem that whoever was was ever recorded.

For whatever it's worth the 7th us Calvary regiment has been in continuous service since it was constituted.

The Seventh Cavalry Regiment was constituted on July 28th 1866 at Fort Riley Kansas and has been in continuous active service since. It's direct lineage is held by the 7th Armoured Cavalry Regiment under the First Cavalry (Combined Arms) Division of Fort Hood.

 

[ChuckS1]

Used to be that the US Army’s divisional cav squadrons were 7th Cavalry squadrons.

 

[cmj8591]

General Alfred Terry was the commander of the column that Custer was attached to when they headed into The Little Big Horn area. General's Cook and Gibbon were in charge of the other two columns that were supposed to converge on the Indians. So at the time of the massacre, Terry was Custer's boss. Col. Sturgis was the assigned commander of the 7th but was on detached duty in St. Louis when the three columns took the field. That made Custer the 7th commander. There was always some question as to why Sturgis was on this duty at a time that his unit was to go into action and it has been surmised that Terry may have wanted Custer to command the 7th and had something to do with it. The 7th's job was to find the Indians, which they did. Custer's orders once they found the Indians was to wait for the three columns to catch up. He didn't, of course, because he was afraid they were going to get away by the time the infantry arrived. He waded in without a good idea of the enemy's strength. The rest is history.

When the 7th went back into the field the next year to go after Chief Joseph, Sturgis was back in command.

The question of who replaced Custer as second in command might require a bit of research beyond a Google search. If you're really interested, give this a try: Inquiries to CMH | U.S. Army Center of Military History

 

[M1A]

I thought the horse of the Nez Perce was the Appaloosa.

 

[Smoke]

I know this is an old discussion but I just found some new information. When the 7th US Calvary regiment was formed in 1866 it was commanded by a General Andrew J Smith. Smith was a graduate of West Point class of 1834 and served with distinction in the Civil War. The only time he had actual command of the 7th Cavalry Regiment was during the Hancock campaign of 1867.

President Grant appointed him Postmaster General in 1869 and he resigned his Commission. Leaving Custer in command of the 7th US Cavalry Regiment.

This was according to My Life On The Plains written by Custer

 

[cmj8591]

I know this is an old discussion but I just found some new information. When the 7th US Calvary regiment was formed in 1866 it was commanded by a General Andrew J Smith. Smith was a graduate of West Point class of 1834 and served with distinction in the Civil War. The only time he had actual command of the 7th Cavalry Regiment was during the Hancock campaign of 1867.

President Grant appointed him Postmaster General in 1869 and he resigned his Commission. Leaving Custer in command of the 7th US Cavalry Regiment.

This was according to My Life On The Plains written by Custer

Sturgis took over when Smith left. Both were full colonels and Custer was a lieutenant colonel. I'm not sure if he might have been in charge for a short time in between but if he was, it wasn't official. Custer had run afoul of President Grant when he implicated Grant's brother in some corruption. He had also been court marshaled and reduced in rank for a year for ordering deserters to be shot without a trial. I don't remember reading about it but I think you can assume that those two things might have kept him from getting his own command. His wife was politically wired in so between that and General Terry advocating for him, that kept him in the Army. I think that Terry was the reason that Sturgis was off on detached duty when the 7th went into the field. I have never read that anywhere but I think it is a good assumption knowing the players. Custer was never the official commander of the 7th. He was always the 2nd in command. That was a pretty big deal when it came to the pecking order and it was probably the reason he was never a full colonel.

 

[Narragansett]

Without research mind you, I will make the comment that if there is any truth to the movie, there wasn't a 7th cavalry after Custer until Hal Moore was given command of the helicopter battle group that fought in the battle of I Drang in Vietnam in 1965.

The movie being " We Were Soldiers."

That statement comes out at the dance scene before deployment

 

[eb07]

The Seventh Regiment of Cavalry - The Army of the US Historical Sketches of Staff and Line with Portraits of Generals-in-Chief | U.S. Army Center of Military History


Looks like it was Sturgis

 

[cmj8591]

Without research mind you, I will make the comment that if there is any truth to the movie, there wasn't a 7th cavalry after Custer until Hal Moore was given command of the helicopter battle group that fought in the battle of I Drang in Vietnam in 1965.

The movie being " We Were Soldiers."

That statement comes out at the dance scene before deployment

The 7th was not disbanded after The Little Big Horn. As you can imagine, it took a while to replace all of the troopers and equipment that was lost. Not to mention that they had to reconstruct the chain of command. There were a couple of officers who survived The Little Big Horn who stayed on with the 7th. Most notably, Fredrick Benteen. The next time they show up in action was about a year after The Little Big Horn when the Army went after Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in Montana and on the Canadian border. Sturges was still in command at that time. The 7th went on to participate in a lot of engagements throughout the years. They fought in the Pacific during WW2 and were in Korea. I don't remember what Mel said in the movie but the 7th Cavalry Regiment has been in continuous existence since the Civil War.