Whiskey: the Death of Custer?

 

Heavy drinking was common in the frontier army. But did it lead to the death of George Armstrong Custer?

Was Major Marcus Reno drunk at the Battle of the Little Bighorn?  Did this cause Custer’s death?  Pro-Custer partisans have argued for almost one hundred and fifty years that this was the case.  But the evidence is mixed.

 Captain Edward S. Godfrey recounts that Major Reno had a half a gallon keg of whiskey with the pack train.

 We have two eyewitness accounts of Reno having liquor on the battlefield on June 25,1876.  Private William O. Taylor recounts that when Major Reno charged the village, “The Major and Lieutenant Hodgson were riding side by side a short distance in the rear of my Company. As I looked back Major Reno was just taking a bottle from his lips. He then passed it to (the Lt) Lieutenant Hodgson. It appeared to be a quart flask, and about one half or two thirds full of an amber colored liquid. There was nothing strange about this, and yet the circumstances remained indelibly fixed in my memory.

Much later in the afternoon, when the pack train joined Major Reno’s command on Reno Hill, Lieutenant Edward Mathey reported that Reno greeted them holding a bottle of whiskey and calling out, “I got half a bottle yet.”

 Assuming that Major Reno started the day with a fresh flask and consumed all of the alcohol himself, he may have consumed from 7-11 straight shots of whiskey between approximately 12 PM and 5 PM when the pack train arrived.

 Heavy drinking was common in the frontier army. Many soldiers drank because they believed liquor was nutritious, stimulated digestion, and relaxed the nerves. Liquor was also consumed to help wash down food that was often poorly cooked, greasy, salty, and sometimes even rancid.

 During the Civil War, a variety of alcoholic beverages were distributed as medicine, thought to cure a host of ailments.

 Major Reno drank, but so did other officers, including many in the Seventh Cavalry.   One of Reno’s predecessors, Major Robert Wickliffe Cooper, who served with Custer in 1866-1867, was a serious alcoholic.  During an expedition against the Cheyenne and Sioux, Cooper ran out of whiskey causing him to experience extreme withdrawal symptoms.  He committed suicide on June 8, 1867 while in a fit of delirium. 

Prior to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Major Reno’s drinking had never been said to have impaired his abilities.

At the Reno Court of Inquiry, the accusation of Major Reno’s drunkenness came from the testimony of civilian mule packers B.F. Churchill and John Frett who had personal grievances against Reno because he demanded to know why they were not on the battle line during the siege of Reno Hill. 

Lt. Edward G. Mathey stated that Reno showed no signs of drunkenness. Lieutenant Wallace testified that he saw no evidence of insobriety and had never even heard the accusation until the court convened. Lt. Edgerly testified that Major Reno was perfectly sober.  Captain Benteen testified that Reno was entirely sober at the time.  Custer partisans considered such testimony as part of an Army cover-up.

Ultimately, the court of inquiry did not find Major Reno remiss in his duty in any way, which did not save him from being found guilty by the pro-Custer Press and partisans, leading to his descent into alcoholism and personal degradation.

While there were witnesses to testify on Major Reno’s behalf, there were no such witnesses to testify for the soldiers who died with Custer.  Many Sioux and Cheyenne eyewitnesses, including Lazy White Bull, Soldier Wolf, Hollow Horn Bear and Iron Hawk all said Custer’s men acted “drunk” and this explained why the soldiers became crazy and shot each other and themselves instead of shooting at their enemies.

Other warriors including Wooden Leg, Little Hawk and Bobtail Horse found bottles of whiskey on dead troopers.

Custer’s Crow scout Goes Ahead reported that even Custer was drunk during the battle. While implausible, this testimony still stands as part of the historical record.

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