Thomas Weir ( American soldier ) Captain Thomas Benton Weir ( 1838 – 1876 ) was an officer in the 7th Cavalry Regiment ( United States ) , notable for his participation in the Battle of the Little Bighorn , also known as Custer ' s Last Stand , where Weir led a force that attempted to come to Custer ' s aid , but was driven back to established defensive positions . A hill on the battlefield , Weir Point , is named in his honor and marks the furthest point of the advance of the would - be relief force . Reportedly deeply depressed by his experience in the historic battle , Weir ' s health declined , and he died only a few months afterwards . Civil War Experience . Weir graduated from the University of Michigan in June 1861 . He enlisted to fight in the American Civil War in late August , and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in October . In June 1862 Weir was promoted to 1st Lieutenant . Shortly afterwards , he was taken prisoner by the Confederate States Army and was promoted again to Captain during the seven months he was held captive . After his release , Weir was given the job of Assistant Inspector General on the staff of ( brevet ) Major General George Armstrong Custer . Battle of the Little Bighorn and Weir Point . During the Indian Wars on the Great Plains , Weir commanded Company D of the 7th Cavalry under Custer , as part of a two - pronged attack on a large Native American encampment on the Little Bighorn River in Montana on June 25 , 1876 . Custer had led a detachment north to attack the camp from that direction . Weir ' s Company D and two other companies , with Major Marcus Reno in overall command , attacked the south end of the village , but Reno ' s forces retreated from their initial attack on the south end of the village to a hilltop nearby , now known as Reno Hill , where they were joined by a detachment led by Captain Frederick Benteen as well as a pack train carrying supplies . Without orders to do so , Weir ( and eventually other soldiers including Benteen ) moved north from the defensive position in the direction of the sound of heavy firing in an attempt to support Custer . The effort was too late to save Custer and over 200 of his men , all of whom were killed , and Weir and the soldiers of the attempted relief force retreated to Reno Hill where they were under attack for another day , until the Native American warriors withdrew . Weir Point . Also known as Weir Ridge , Weir Point is about three miles south from where Custer and the soldiers with him were killed after they had first attacked the Native American village . Weir Point is the location where Captain Weir and those with him realized that Custer was beyond their aid , and that hostile warriors were advancing towards the relief force in substantial numbers . From Weir Point the surviving members of the 7th Cavalry withdrew back to the already - established defensive positions on Reno Hill . In the present era , Weir Point is a modest pull - off on the paved lane that ends at Reno Hill , also known as the Reno - Benteen Battlefield . Weir Point is marked with an illustrated roadside sign naming the hill and showing an artist ' s rendition of what the artist believed Weir and those with him saw : clouds of dust rising from the bluffs to the north where Custer and his men were wiped out . Weir ' s Decline and Death . Deeply shaken by his experience after the famous battle and showing symptoms of post - traumatic stress , Weir ' s mental health declined rapidly . Weir wrote letters to Custer ' s widow , Elizabeth Bacon Custer , hinting at untold matters regarding her husband ' s death . Formally posted back to New York City on recruiting duty , in the final months of his life he refused to go outside , began to drink heavily and in his last days was said to be extremely nervous , to the point of being unable to swallow . He died in New York City less than six months after Custer ' s death , reportedly in a state of extreme depression . He was buried at the Fort Columbus post cemetery on Governors Island in New York City . In the 1880s his remains were reinterred at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn , New York .