Subscribe
by Michael E. Bigelow, INSCOM Command Historian
In the early morning hours of June 25, 1876, 2d Lt. Charles A. Varnum, the 7th Cavalry’s chief of scouts, wrote a dispatch to his flamboyant commander, Lt. Col. George A. Custer. Varnum relayed that his scouts had discovered a large Sioux village and its pony herd. This note would start of chain of events that ultimately led to Custer’s defeat.
Four days earlier, 7th Cavalry had begun its movement along Rosebud Creek in an effort to defeat some Sioux and their Cheyenne allies who refused to remain on the Montana or Dakota reservations. For the campaign, Custer chose the 27-year-old lieutenant to lead the regiment’s contingent of thirty-nine Crow and Arikaree warriors. As such, the young officer assigned scouting missions and coordinated the resulting reports.
On 24 June, Varnum and his scouts came across increasing signs of Sioux movement. Varnum thought the signs were only two days old. Estimating the Sioux could not be too far away, Custer had the lieutenant send scouts out that evening to locate the quarry and look for indications of the village beginning to scatter. In the fading light, the scouts did not find the village, but they found a single trail heading west: the village was not breaking up. Around 9 p.m., they returned to camp and reported to Custer that they had identified some high ground—the Crow’s Nest—from which observers could see into the Little Bighorn Valley.
Twenty minutes later, Custer sent Varnum and a detail of scouts to the Crow’s Nest so they could observe the valley as soon as the sun rose. The group reached the high point about five hours later. At the same time, Custer decided to move his regiment forward. He planned to rest his troops on 25 June while reconnoitering the surrounding terrain and pinpointing the location of the village.
As the sun rose on June 25, Varnum’s scouts scanned the horizon from their perch for sign of the Sioux. Soon, they spotted telltale smoke rising from the Sioux village’s cook fires, about thirteen miles to the west. They also found a herd of 2,000-3,000 ponies beyond the village. Although Varnum couldn’t pick out the ponies, he trusted his scout’s eyes and quickly scribbled his note to Custer. With the messenger headed toward the main column, Varnum and his scouts continued their observation. Soon, they noticed small Sioux parties to the north and northwest, both appearing to head toward Custer’s column. Varnum and several of the scouts went to head off one of the parties but lost the trail. Shortly after the lieutenant returned to the Crow’s Nest, Custer had joined the group to view the situation for himself.
By the time, Custer reached the summit, a haze had settled into the valley obscuring his view. Nevertheless, he trusted the village was where his scouts said it was. He was more troubled with the presence of small Sioux parties near his column. Fearing one of the parties would detect the soldiers and warn the Sioux village, Custer abandoned his plans to reconnoiter, pressing forward as quickly as possible and developing his attack plan on the fly.
By the end of the day, Custer and some 270 troopers were dead, overwhelmed by superior Sioux and Cheyenne leadership, numbers, and tactics. Lieutenant Varnum, however, survived. He would rise to the rank of colonel and die in 1936, the last surviving officer of the battle.
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2022 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 423422 |
| Location: | FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 215 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Lieutenant Varnum scouts for Custer, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
