Year: 1877

Indian Tribute to the Bravery of Col.


French-The Bravest of the Brave


Criticism Of Reno's Conduct Toward


Him..Demand for an Investigation.
st. Paul Pioneer-Prees Editorial.


We have received from military cir
cles some important information throw
ing light on the following passage
from the statement of Red Horse,
the Minneconjou sub-chief, who was a
witness of and participant in the attack
on Reno, and the massacre of Clusters
immediate command in the night on the
Big Horn. After stating the hurried
pl operations by the Indians on learning
that the troops were approaching, Red
Horse said:


ssWe gave directions Immediately for
every Indian to get his arms, for the wo-
men and children to mount their horses
and get out of the way, and for the young
men to 60 and meet the troops.


Among the latter was an officer who
rode horse with four white feet. The
Indians have fought a great many tribes
of people and very brave ones, too, but
they all say that this man was the bravest
man they had ever met. I don't know
whether this man was General Custer or
not. Some say he was. saw this man
in the fight several times, but did not see
his body. 1t is said he was killed by a
Santee, who holds his horse. This officer
wore large brimmed hat and buck
skin coat. He alone saved the command
a number of times by turning on his horse
in the retreat. In speaking Of him, the
Indians call him the man who rode the
horse with four white feet There were
two men of his description, looking very
much alike, both having long yellow
hair"


This has been supposed to refer to Gen.
Custer But this is an error. 1t is per-
fectly plain from his somewhat confused
narrative that Red Horse is here speak
ing of the attack on Reno's detachment.
and of his retreat across Greasy Grass
Creek to the hill on its eastern bank.
There was but one man in Reno's three
companies who wore bucksk:n, and it is
needless to say it was not General Gus
ter, who had gone three miles up the
creek with his detachment. This un-
known officer in buckskin deliberately
abandoned the side of the commanding
officer and the head of the flying column
and fought alone in the rear all the way
to the ford. The name Of this gallant
officer, who was the hero of the combat,
of whom the Indians call say that he was
the bravest man they had ever met"
and who s'alone saved his command a
number of times by turning on his horse
in the retreat was not mentioned by Col.
Reno in his official report of the battle.
The Indians, of course, -'id not know him,
but the soldiers in the rear of the retreat
ing column knew him, and it has been
for sometime known to army officers who
was the yellow-ha1red hero in buckskin
of this gallant fight against the savages
in the rear of the flying column. His
name is Captain T. H. French, now at
Ft. Rice. 1t is not a creditable fact that
no mention of his gallant and heroic SER
vice in that days bloody fight was made
in the official report of the battle by Gen
Reno, and that the first public mention OF
his magnificent bravery was made in mar
ratives taken from the lips of the savages
whose admiration of his gallant bearing
was one of the most vivid impressions
which the battle made upon them. 1t
was reserved for Red Horse to rectif!y
this omission in the official report of Gen
Reno, so far as to call public attention to
/ the unknown hero of the combat, and il
is with great pleasure that the Pioneer.
supplies the one fact lacking to a just
recognition of his gallant service-his
name. We need not say that service
which undoubtly saved Reno's detach-
ment from the fate which befell Clusters is
entitled to more honorable recognition
than this tardy newspaper disclosure
coming indirectly to light through gh the
narrative Of an admiring savage seven
months after the battle But the rigid
rules of military routine or etiquette re-
qulre that any official recognition of dis
tinguished services in the orders or re-
ports of superior officers should be based
on the 1eports of the officer directly in
command of the detachment in action,
and who is presumed to nave all the de-
tails of the action under his eye. Hence
it comes, we suppose, that there has been
10 official correction of the oversight OF
General Reno in failing to make any men
ton of probably the most distinguished
service performed by any officer in his
command; nor can there be until the facts
are officially ascertained. But If the OF
ficer whose services are thus ignored OF
overlooked by the officer whose duty it
was to recognize and commend them, is
too modest to make any complaint of the
Injustice done him, there surely should
be some remedy for so grave an oversight
The only reward a soldier covets for dis
tinguished services is their honorable
recognition by his superior officers, the
countcrsign Of the glory he has earned
and his formal title to promotion, and
when this is withheld it cannot fail to
leave a ranking sense OF wrong and in
Justice which must greatly weaken the
incentives to gallant conduct. We sup.
pose the only remedy is by military
court of inquiry, and there seem to be
othe- reasons than the neglect 10 bestow
a weil-earned commendation on the con-
spicuously gallant officer who saved his
command from destruction, why General
Reno's conduct in the battle of Greasy