Lieutenant Edgerly, who served with the Seventh Cavalry during the 1876 campaign, later wrote a detailed account of the events surrounding the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His 1881 letter describes the movements and final hours of the command under General George Custer, including the initial contact with a large Indian village and the subsequent fighting that led to Custer’s defeat. According to Edgerly, the regiment was divided into battalions under the command of senior officers Reno, Bentine, Kog, and Yates. Colonel Bentine was ordered to turn left and attack any Indians he encountered, while General Custer led a column of roughly 250 to 300 men in a direction parallel to Major Reno’s advance.
Edgerly noted that Custer had sent an orderly with a message stating, “We have found a big village,” before the fighting began. Edgerly described observing a large group of more than a hundred Indians moving toward the bluffs east of the Little Bighorn River. After Reno’s retreat and the subsequent firing, Edgerly recalled that the shooting lasted for about 30 minutes until Reno ordered his troops to fall back. The Indians then advanced and fired heavily on the soldiers’ position for over an hour, continuing until 30 minutes after dark.
The next morning, heavy gunfire resumed from the hills, but it decreased considerably by the afternoon, and the Indians eventually left the area. Following the fighting, General Terry’s column arrived, and Edgerly’s regiment was sent to bury the dead. He reported that the bodies of several officers, including Colonel Kuster and Lieutenant Cook, were found stripped of their clothing and mutilated. Most of the men were entirely naked, and Edgerly noted that the bodies lay in a skirmish line, with the officers positioned behind their troops.
Edgerly also recounted that he had suggested to Custer that they use the troops to fight on foot, a view shared by the first sergeant. Custer asked if Edgerly would accompany him with only a small escort, but Edgerly later learned that Custer had not received approval for this plan. The letter provides a rare first-hand account of the discipline and the grim aftermath of the battle, including the burial of the fallen soldiers.