Charles Windolph was a private in Company L of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment when he rode into the Battle of the Little Bighorn. A German immigrant who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1872, he was one of the few soldiers to survive the engagement. He later received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day. His account of the battle is considered one of the most detailed and precise records of the fight.
On Sunday, June 25, 1876, near midday, the regiment crossed the divide separating the Rosebud and Little Bighorn rivers. The column moved westward, with soldiers riding four across and companies spaced 50 to 60 feet apart. The command halted abruptly, and orders were given for Captain Benteen to take his company, along with Captain Weir’s company D and Lieutenant Godfrey’s company K, to scout the hills and engage any hostiles found.
General Custer kept troops under his direct command, while Major Reno led other companies with the majority of the Indian scouts. The Seventh Cavalry, roughly 600 men, was split into detachments in broken terrain. The soldiers knew a substantial force of hostiles was positioned 12 to 15 miles west, but the exact number was unknown. Indian scouts estimated several thousand warriors, but Custer and most officers believed they faced 1,000 to 1,500, probably poorly armed. They expected a rear-guard action that would allow the Indians to flee.
Instead, they confronted a force possibly double that size, outnumbering Custer’s men by five to one. Custer had planned a surprise dawn attack on June 26 but chose to strike immediately when hostile scouts spotted his column.
Benteen, commanding three troops, rode forward to scout. The terrain was difficult for the horses. From each hilltop, Lieutenant Gibson signaled back that he saw no signs of Indians. Even the troopers believed the mission was pointless. After two hours, they turned back onto Custer’s trail, glad to return to the small valley.
As they moved west along a small stream, the lead pack mules became trapped in a bog, slowing the pack train. As they left the area, they heard distant firing ahead. Captain Weir took his company forward, with Benteen in front. Everyone understood they would soon be in combat.
Shortly after leaving the swamp, they passed a burning teepee, likely set by their own Indian scouts. The horses sensed danger and became agitated. They then saw Sergeant Knipe of Tom Custer’s troop carrying an order for Captain McDougall to hurry the pack mules forward. Benteen told him to go back down the trail.
They then encountered trumpeter Martini, wounded but carrying a message from Custer to Benteen to bring the packs quickly. Martini, a spirited Italian who had served as a drummer boy in the fight for Italian independence, was known to Windolph from H Troop. His horse was bleeding heavily from a bullet wound in its right hip, but Martini did not realize it. Benteen instructed him to return to his company. Windolph believed Benteen saw no need to send more word to McDougall, since Sergeant Knipe had already delivered the order to bring on the pack train with all speed.
The heavy firing grew louder. Soon they met Crow and Ree scouts driving a few Indian ponies. The scouts yelled “soldiers” and gestured toward the bluffs to the north. The men realized they were approaching the valley of the Little Bighorn and that intense fighting was happening nearby. Benteen ordered the men to draw their pistols, and they charged up the bluffs at a gallop, expecting to meet hostiles at any moment.
When they reached the top of the first series of rolling hills, the river valley opened up before them. The scene was enough to instill fear in the bravest men. Below, about 150 feet down in the valley and half a mile away, riders raced madly with gunfire echoing everywhere. Farther along the river, large groups of mounted men were visible, believed to be Indians. The soldiers rode at a rapid pace and caught sight of the battlefield just as they saw mounted and dismounted soldiers on a hill to the north. They rode toward them quickly, their hearts beating with expectation.
Windolph then recounted the fate of Reno’s men, based on reports from survivors. Around 12:15 p.m., Reno was placed in charge of three troops, 17 Crow and Ree scouts, and three white scouts. Custer, leading five troops, continued to the right while Reno’s column went left. Benteen, with three troops, was ordered to scout the rough hills to the south and west. Windolph was with Benteen and did not see the events of the next five hours firsthand.
As the two battalions went down into the dry creek bottom, they sometimes came within 50 yards of each other and at other times were as far as 200 yards apart. Both columns trotted west toward the Little Bighorn. Around 2:00 p.m., they found a burning teepee containing the body of an Indian warrior killed in General Crook’s fight a week earlier, less than 20 miles away. A white scout yelled back to Custer that hostiles were close but remained outside rifle range.
Custer signaled Reno to ford the creek and ordered Adjutant Cook to tell Reno that the Little Bighorn was two miles further west. Reno was to attack the Indian village on the right, with the understanding that the whole force would support him. This order has been debated ever since.
Reno led his force of 120 men, along with guides and scouts, at a quick trot. They crossed the Little Bighorn and stopped only to water their horses and reform on the west bank. The west side offered a flat valley about half a mile to a mile wide, extending to a low plateau. To the east, the Wolf Mountains rose sharply, with coulees running from the bluffs to the river bottom.
The river was roughly 100 to 150 feet wide, clear and cold, with a gravel bottom. Along the west bank, Indian camps stretched for nearly three miles. Five Sioux tribes, along with Cheyennes, Blackfeet, and Arapahos, occupied distinct circles spaced about a quarter mile apart. To the west, large pony herds grazed, watched by boys and women. An estimated 10,000 Indians were present, nearly a third of all Sioux tribesmen, including 2,000 to 3,000 warriors.
Windolph corrected a common misunderstanding about the hostiles’ weapons. Not every warrior carried a modern repeating Winchester rifle. In his judgment, half of the warriors bore only bows, arrows, and lances. Half of the rest used old muzzle-loaders, single-shot rifles, and miscellaneous arms. Only about 25 to 30 percent owned modern repeating rifles. Indian boys aged 14 and older went with the warriors and took part in the battle, especially in its later phases.
The soldiers carried single-shot .45-70 caliber Springfield carbines, known for accuracy and lethality up to 600 yards. But when fired rapidly, the breech became dirty, and the greasy cartridges often jammed. Soldiers had to pry out empty shells with hunting knives, a process that cost many lives that day. Each soldier also carried a six-shot single-action Colt Army revolver. Troops were instructed to carry 100 rounds of rifle ammunition and 24 rounds of revolver ammunition. As troopers dismounted and every fourth man held horses, many mounts were stampeded, causing the loss of thousands of rounds of crucial ammunition, especially for Custer’s men.
Reno’s battalion crossed the river and formed a line in columns of fours, with Indian scouts on the left. Soon Indian horsemen were seen riding wildly in the valley, and the southern edge of the camps became visible. Reno arranged his troops in a skirmish line spanning the width of the narrow valley. Troop M was on the right, A in the middle, and G on the left. The men dismounted and advanced half a mile toward the camp, with 75 yards between each soldier.
They met a large group of mounted Indians who rushed down upon them. For ten minutes, Reno’s men held their position and fired continuously, but they were quickly surrounded by hundreds of mounted Indians, many using repeating rifles. Understanding the risk of encirclement, Reno ordered a retreat. The men mounted in good order and withdrew 300 yards. Hundreds of Indians rushed them again. Reno formed another skirmish line and dismounted, firing steadily for ten minutes. But the Indians closed in from all directions, shooting at close range and causing serious losses.
Fearing total envelopment, Reno ordered a fallback to a grove of cottonwoods half a mile to the rear. In the turmoil, many troopers became separated from their companies. Horses stampeded, and the men broke in wild disarray. The greatest number of casualties occurred here. Many troopers were shot off their horses, killed instantly, or mutilated and scalped. Survivors crossed the river in confusion and climbed a steep hill on the east bank, closely followed by hundreds of mounted Indians. About 15 to 20 soldiers died in the river and along the riverbank.
Once Reno’s men reached the hilltop, the Indians pulled back. Around 2:30 p.m., Captain Weir arrived with his troop, followed closely by Benteen’s troops H and K. Reno’s forces were in disorder, but the reinforcements restored some order. Benteen quickly assessed the situation and ordered defensive positions. They were soon joined by Captain McDougall’s troop B and the pack train, bringing much-needed ammunition and supplies. The combined forces dug in on the hill, preparing for a desperate defense.
Custer, meanwhile, had continued down the river with his five troops, trying to flank the Indian village. As they rode north along the bluffs, they came upon the main body of hostiles. At the northern end of the valley, near the present-day location of the national cemetery, the full extent of the Indian forces became clear. Custer’s men were soon overrun by the sheer number of warriors. Despite their brave efforts, they were surrounded and killed, fighting to the last man.
As evening came, Reno and Benteen’s forces on the hill heard the distant sounds of battle and understood the terrible fate that had likely befallen their comrades. The night was spent in anxious waiting, with occasional skirmishes as the Indians probed their defenses. By morning, the Indians began to withdraw, having achieved a decisive victory.
The survivors of Reno and Benteen’s battalions were finally relieved by General Terry’s column two days later. The Battle of the Little Bighorn remains a deep and tragic chapter in American history. The courage and endurance of soldiers like Charles Windolph, who lived to share his story, provide a moving look into the harsh truths of frontier warfare.