Reno's Battalion

• Major Marcus Reno was given three companies of the 7th (A, G, and M-approximately 140 men). Reno was ordered to find a crossing over the Little Bighorn River and move towards the Lakota/Cheyenne village. Custer told Reno that he would be fully supported.
• About 200 hundred yards from the village Reno was stopped. Reno halted his command and ordered his men to dismount and form a skirmish line. Realizing he was being overwhelmed, Reno ordered his command to move back and take cover in the nearby timber. Within 15 minutes Reno decided that his men could be overrun and ordered his men to remount and head towards the nearby hills. The men fled towards the hills, fighting off assaults from Lakota warriors.
• Reno's command eventually reached the top of the hill. Battered and bloody, Reno and his battalion wondered what had happened to Custer.
• Captain Frederick Benteen with his three companies (D, H, and K-approximately 125 men) arrived at Reno's position and despite the order Benteen had received from Custer telling him to hurry to his aid and bring ammunition packs, Benteen was convinced by Reno to stay and support his force. The enlarged B company (approximately 130 men) with the pack train also arrive.
• Captain Thomas Weir, a close friend of Custer's, asked to move ahead to see if he could locate the Custer command.
• About 500 yards from Reno's position, Weir came upon a high bluff (today called Weir Point). Reno arrived with his command, and Weir and others worked their way up to the top of the bluff. Looking to the north, they saw a rise of dust and movement on top of a hill (now known as " Last Stand Hill"). They also saw hundreds of warriors heading their way, riding hard, and the order was given to retreat back to their earlier defensive position.
• Reno, Benteen, and their commands would spend the next 40 hours dealing with a final intense attack on the morning of the 26th, and sporadic gunfire for the remainder of the day before being relieved by the arrival of General Terry and his column on the morning of June 27.