Frederick Benteen

Frederick Benteen

Frederick William Benteen (August 24, 1834-June 221898) was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. He was in command of a battalion of the 7th U. S. Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Early life and career

Frederick Benteen was born August 24, 1834, in Petersburg, Virginia to Theodore Charles Benteen and Caroline Hargrove Benteen. He was educated at the Petersburg Classical Institute. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1849. He joined the Union Army on September 1,1861 as a first lieutenant in the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. He married Catherine "Kate" Louise Norman on January 7, 1862.

Benteen participated in numerous battles during the Civil War, for which he was awarded the brevet ranks of major and then lieutenant colonel. Among his fights were Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, Vicksburg and Westport. In July 1865, he was named as colonel of the 138th Regiment United States Colored Infantry. He was mustered out after the war, and later appointed captain in the 7th U.S. Cavalry in 1866. He was brevetted colonel for action against the Indians in 1868. He participated in the Washita campaign in 1868 and the Black Hills War in 1876.

Little Big Horn

During the Little Bighorn (“Sioux”) expedition in 1876, under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, Benteen commanded Company H. Approximately 12 miles from the Little Bighorn River, he was assigned command of a battalion comprising Company H, Company D, and Company K. Although Custer was uncertain of the exact location of the Indians, he assigned Benteen the task of containing the left flank. Benteen searched fruitlessly through rough ground for some two hours before returning to the trail of the main column. As he advanced toward the river, he was met by first one messenger from Custer, and then another, indicating that a big village had been found, and that he should "come on. Big village. Be quick. Bring packs".

When Benteen reached a point overlooking the river, he found the battalion commanded by Major Marcus Reno. It had been severely routed from its attack on the Sioux village, with the tattered remains of the battalion struggling to get across the river and up the bluffs. Because Reno's units were still under fire from the Sioux and low on ammunition, and since Reno technically was Benteen's superior officer, Benteen was ordered by Reno to share his battalion's ammunition. Reno was visibly shaken, and his ability to effectually command was diminished. Within a few minutes, loud firing to the north was heard by almost all the men on the bluffs, and the Sioux began to turn away from the Reno/Benteen units and head towards the firing. These volleys signified that Custer was engaged, but to what extent was uncertain to Reno and Benteen. Further, due to Custer's abandonment of Major Elliot's detail (resulting in their annihilation) eight years previous at the Battle of the Washita, both Benteen and Reno suspected that Custer had abandoned them and that they were faced with annihilation themselves if the Sioux warriors returned. Because the combined force was low on ammunition and struggling to deal with the wounded from the just-disengaged fight, they had no choice but to wait for the arrival of the packtrain before an organized advance was made toward the sound of the guns. After a march of less than a mile, a vantage point now called Weir Point was reached, from which (as it later was learned) the last moments of the Custer fight could be seen.

The Lakota and Cheyenne who had destroyed Custer’s battalion then turned their attention to Reno and Benteen, driving them back to a defensive position now called the "Reno-Benteen defense site", a horseshoe-shaped perimeter on the bluffs near where Reno and Benteen had met. Over the next 24 hours, Benteen assumed functional command. He led two charges which drove the Indians back just as it seemed the perimeter would be overrun. Benteen was wounded in the thumb, and the heel was shot off one of his boots.

Benteen was later criticized for his slow travel between the time he was sent off to the left and the time he reached the bluffs overlooking the river. However, when the route Benteen was told to scout is examined in detail, it is clear that it is much rougher terrain than the gently descending North Fork of Reno Creek that Custer's command had ridden down at full gallop.

His decision to join Reno, rather than continuing on toward Custer, has also been questioned by some critics.

Later activities

Benteen participated in the Nez Perce campaign in 1877, later being brevetted brigadier general on February 27, 1890 for his actions at the Canyon Creek fight of that war, as well as for his actions at the Little Bighorn. He testified at the Reno Court of Inquiry in 1879 in Chicago. He was appointed Major, 9th U.S. Cavalry, in December of 1882. In 1887, he was suspended for drunk and disorderly conduct at Fort DuChesne, Utah. He was convicted and faced dismissal from the Army, but President Grover Cleveland reduced his sentence to a one-year suspension. He retired July 7, 1888, citing disability from rheumatism and heart disease.

Frederick Benteen died on June 22, 1898, leaving a widow Kate and son Fred. He was initially buried in Westwood Cemetery in Atlanta. His pallbearers included Georgia Governor William Y. Atkinson and Charles Collier, the mayor of Atlanta. Benteen's remains were later reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery.

References

• Evans, D. C. Custer's Last Fight Volume I, Battle of Little Big Horn. El Segundo, CA: Upton and Sons, 1999
• Graham, W. W. The Custer Myth Lincoln NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1986

Further reading

• Hammer, Kenneth, edited by Ronald H. Nichols, Men with Custer: Biographies of the 7th Cavalry June 25, 1876, Hardin, MT: Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association, 2000.
• Mills, Charles K., Harvest of Barren Regrets: The Army Career of Frederick William Benteen, 1834-1898, Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark Co., 1985. ISBN 0-87062-160-2