Benteen, Frederick (1834-1892)

US cavalry officer and general. Benteen was a captain in the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Montana, in 1876. He was under the command of Lt-Col George Custer, whom he disliked intensely, blaming him for the loss of a company of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Washita, Oklahoma, in 1868. Benteen served under Custer from 1868-76 and survived the 7th Cavalry's defeat at Little Bighorn. He was later promoted to brigadier general.

Early career Benteen joined the Union army of the northern USA in 1860. In the first year of the American Civil War (1861-65) he became a captain in the 10th Missouri Cavalry. He took part in battles across the Confederate States of the south and remained active until the end of the Civil War in 1865. In September 1866 Benteen used his extensive political contacts to get the position of captain in the newly created 7th Cavalry of the US Army, a unit under the command of Custer.

Battle of the Washita, 1868 Benteen had taken a great dislike to the character and methods of his commanding officer Custer from their first meeting in 1867. He later commented, after Custer's death, that ‘I'm only too proud to say that I despised him’. Benteen was fiercely critical of Custer's actions during the attack on the Cheyenne peace chief Black Kettle's camp at the Washita River in 1868. He did not criticize the battle itself; he took a full and active part in the massacre of the fleeing Cheyenne and Arapaho. However, he did criticize Custer for abandoning a unit of the 7th Cavalry led by Major Elliot, which had become detached from the main group while chasing some fleeing American Indians. Despite fears for Elliot's safety, Custer ordered the 7th Cavalry to return to camp without looking for their comrades. Many months later Custer led the 7th Cavalry back to the Washita River battle site, where they found the decaying and mutilated bodies of Elliot and the lost cavalry. Benteen wrote to a friend criticizing Custer and the letter was passed to a newspaper without Benteen's permission. On its publication Custer threatened to ‘horsewhip’ the author but, although Benteen admitted it was his work, Custer never carried out his threat. After the incident at the Washita, Benteen's dislike for Custer intensified into something approaching hatred. Benteen continued to serve under Custer throughout the period 1868 to 1876, accompanying the 7th Cavalry on the expedition that discovered gold in the Black Hills in 1874.

Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876 Benteen was still a captain when the 7th Cavalry took part in the ill-fated Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25 June 1876. Custer force-marched his soldiers through the Wolf Mountains of Montana and attacked an enormous Indian encampment of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho led by chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Critics later viewed his actions as an attempt to gain personal glory single-handedly, because he refused to wait for other US Army units to arrive as planned and ignored the advice of his scouts. Benteen blamed Custer for the defeat of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and was prepared to do so publicly after the battle.

Benteen had been given about 125 men and was ordered to head south towards the South Fork River while Custer went north to attack the encampment. He was thus removed from the battle, and arrived in time to see Custer's cavalry, an estimated 225 men, being routed by the Indian warriors. Benteen and Major Marcus Reno fought off the attacks of the Indians, and did not advance to help Custer as ordered. Benteen later argued that the overwhelming presence of thousands of warriors had made it impossible for his detachment to advance. Benteen and Reno were rescued on 27 June by General Alfred Terry's infantry.

Benteen was fiercely critical of Custer's actions at the Little Bighorn, and maintained that Custer's arrogance and refusal to obey orders had led to the death of his men. However, it can be argued that Benteen was trying to protect himself by attacking Custer, as he had disobeyed a direct order to advance on the American Indian camp. By placing the blame on Custer and his rashness, Benteen deflected the potential censure of his own actions. Benteen's position was endorsed by an official inquiry, as well by President Ulysses S Grant, who was equally biased against Custer. The president disliked Custer because he had tried to accuse Grant's brother of corruption in early 1876.

Final years Although cleared of blame by the official inquiry, Benteen's reputation was blackened in the eyes of many American people and those who still supported Custer. However, he went on to achieve success in the army campaign against the Nez Percé of Idaho in 1877, and in 1882 Benteen was promoted to major in the 9th Cavalry. However, in 1887 he was court-martialled for drunkenness and conduct unbecoming an officer and sentenced to a dishonourable discharge from the US Army. He was saved by another of the commanders in the Little Bighorn campaign of 1876, General George Crook, who appealed to President Grover Cleveland for clemency. Benteen was stripped of his rank and half his pay for one year, a much reduced punishment. He retired from the US Army in 1889. In 1890 he was given the rank of brigadier general in recognition of his bravery at the Little Bighorn, thus restoring in part his reputation. In 1898 he died of a stroke and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, the official resting place of the US Army.

Benteen remained a critic of Custer to his death, and always staunchly defended his own actions at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.