August L. DeVoto served as a private in B Troop of the Seventh US Cavalry, tasked with attending the regiment’s pack train. His position placed him at the vital intersection of supply and combat during the campaign. In later years, he committed his clear-eyed recollections to paper, providing a crucial ground-level account of those fateful days.
Writing to his dearest friend, DeVoto began his narrative on June 22, 1876, when the Seventh Cavalry was encamped on the banks of the Yellowstone River near the mouth of Rosebud Creek. That very afternoon, General Custer, their commander, took his leave of General Terry and led the regiment up the Rosebud, intent on making short work of Sitting Bull and his band. With no wagons, the command relied on some 150 pack mules, and the soldiers themselves did the packing and cared for the animals. The regiment marched up the Rosebud throughout the day until near darkness.
On the 23rd, they set out at 5:00 in the morning and traveled again until dark. When morning came on the 24th, they moved upstream and struck an Indian trail that grew broader with every step. That afternoon, they neared the headwaters of the Rosebud and made camp for the night. DeVoto described breaking camp between midnight and 1:00 AM.
The darkness was so profound he could barely see the man riding before him. They moved in that manner until nearly daylight, when they halted to rest. After coming within some ten miles of the Indian camp, they halted for a half-hour’s rest. It was likely at this moment that General Custer formed his final plan of attack: he took five troops under his direct command, assigned three to Major Reno, three to Captain Benteen, and left one troop—DeVoto’s own B Troop—as rear guard.
Before the command moved, men from each troop were detailed to take charge of the pack train. The plan was to catch the Indians between two fires. Reno crossed the river above the camp and made the first attack with his three troops. However, DeVoto noted that the Indians, of whom there was a vast number, must have dismounted and hidden themselves in a dry ravine, as he later noted there were no dead Indian ponies when the troops buried Custer’s men.
He recounted that shortly after the troops formed, the fight commenced. DeVoto painted a vivid picture of the chaos and confusion. The troops saw a cloud of dust in the west and thought the Indians were returning, but it brought the sad news that Custer and all his men had been killed. He described seeing dead Indians in two teepees that were left standing, and how the soldiers skinned dead horses and mules, cut the hides into strips, chopped down young saplings, and made litters.
With two men leading each litter, they transported the wounded—about 50 men—to the mouth of the Little Big Horn River, where the steamer Far West waited to take them to Fort Abraham Lincoln. They traveled all night along the banks of the Big Horn. After sending the wounded away, they traveled down the Big Horn to the mouth of the Yellowstone, stopping when they were opposite the Rosebud. The Seventh Cavalry and Crook’s command moved together for about three days, until it was discovered the Indians had dispersed, some having gone into Canada.
The two commands then separated, with the Seventh Cavalry going to the mouth of the Tongue River on the Yellowstone. DeVoto concluded his account by mentioning that about a week later, they made a short trip down the river to Standing Rock, took a lot of ponies from the Indians, and drove them to Fort Lincoln. His recollection stands as a stark, boots-on-the-ground narration of one of the most famous and tragic battles in American military history.