The Indians poured a murderous sniping fire onto Reno Hill until nightfall. On that date, Lieutenant Colonel (Brevet Major General) George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry fought perhaps the biggest alliance of Plains Indians hostile to the government that had ever gathered in one place. Reno lost 40 percent of his command before he and other survivors made it to the top of the bluffs. Near the Little Bighorn River, Big Horn County, MontanaExplore articles from the History Net archives about Battle Of Little Big HornThe U.S. Cavalry was attempting to force the Indians back to their reservations and divided into three columns to attack. Even General Terry confused the issues by inventing a charge that Custer disobeyed orders–a charge still frequently repeated despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.It was early morning on June 25 when, from the divide between the Rosebud Creek and Little Bighorn River valleys, Custer was informed by his scouts of the location of an enormous camp of hostile Indians, mostly Sioux and Cheyenne. Many of the Indian bands, in their remote and scattered winter camps, likely did not receive these orders and could not have reached the government agencies as whole communities (including women and children) if they had. Custer simultaneously transferred 1st Lt. Algeron E. Smith, Company A’s executive officer, to Company E where he became acting commanding officer in DeRudio’s place.
He yelled at them, but O’Neil, recognizing the horsemen as Indians, pulled DeRudio back under cover where they remained undetected. DeRudio mistook them for soldiers, probably because they were wearing items of uniforms and equipment stripped from Custer’s dead. Not everyone got word of the withdrawal, which swiftly degenerated into a complete disaster with Indians attacking from behind and on both flanks. Among the troops advancing on the Little Bighorn were three Italian-born soldiers.
Thus, while Americans typecast Italians as artistic and musical, given the amount of warfare that afflicted Italy during the first half of the 19th century, the reality was that Italians were much more likely to be soldiers than music makers.The six Italians were from different parts of Italy, spoke different dialects, and probably felt very little solidarity with one another. When the now-alerted Indian warriors began to advance and flank his line, Reno withdrew his men to the wooded area and had them remount.
Gerard and Jackson planned to make a dash on horseback for Reno on the bluffs, but DeRudio dissuaded them, fearing that such an attempt would lead the Indians, who were moving around nearby looking for stragglers, to the two men on foot. Later, the two met Frederic F. Gerard, a civilian interpreter of the Lakota, and Billy Jackson, a half-blooded enlisted scout. Shortly after the formation of the first skirmish line, DeRudio, on his own initiative, led a half-dozen Company A troopers to the northwest corner of the woods to head off an attack on the right flank of the line. Outrage over the death of the popular Custer led the U.S. government to redraw the boundaries of the Black Hills so that the land would not be part of reservation property, which left it open for white men to settle.June 25, 1876. Dan Bullock died at age 15 in 1969 and efforts to recognize the young African-American Marine continue and are highlighted in this Military Times documentary. Toward sunset, the Indians began to move their village off to the southeast. Custer and five companies of the 7th Cavalry lay dead, killed to the last man on or near Custer Hill. This attack on the middle of the village instead of the far end probably was precipitated by the fact that Custer could visually observe Reno’s abortive attack and felt he had to get into action against the village to distract the Indians and give Reno some relief. Custer was probably the best cavalry leader in the army’s history; he was no fool and believed that his regiment, properly handled, could defeat any number of Indians. Disinherited by her father, the bride and her revolutionary husband were compelled to live in modest circumstances. DeRudio may have been an idealist at 15, but by the time he was 32 he was an opportunistic survivor.
DeRudio was informed of the withdrawal by Company A’s trumpeter, who brought DeRudio his horse. This would have prevented noncombatants from escaping the village to the north and hopefully would have allowed their capture and a successful end to the battle. The discipline and organization of Custer’s troops gave them an advantage far beyond their numbers.Custer had Martin sound officers’ call at about noon, and when the officers had gathered, he gave them orders out of Martin’s earshot. Background noise on Reno Hill, where there were more than 400 men and almost 600 horses and mules, must have affected the hearing of the soldiers there.To further explore such matters, I created a task force of experts in 1994. The battle … Fifteen of the 34 earned the Medal of Honor; De Voto, however, was not one of them.The sniping began to slack off at 11 a.m., and all firing had ceased by 3 p.m. Not long after, the Indian village was seen moving away to the south; the Battle of the Little Bighorn was over.
HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. He clearly was popular in the social milieu of Far West military outposts, for he was witty and entertaining and helped relieve the crushing boredom that was part of the life of frontier Regulars.On the other hand, DeRudio’s superiors thought little of his military ability. More than a century after the event, nearly all Americans as well as large numbers of people the world over know about Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.