Marcus Bulkeley Reno

Marcus Bulkeley Reno
Name	Marcus Bulkeley Reno
Birth date	May 5, 1834
Birth place	Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Death date	November 26, 1889
Death place	Rockford, Illinois
Allegiance	United States
Serviceyears	1855–1876
Rank	Major
Unit	7th United States Cavalry

Marcus Bulkeley Reno Marcus Bulkeley Reno was a United States Army officer and brevet major in the 7th United States Cavalry noted for his controversial actions during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. A graduate of the United States Military Academy and a veteran of frontier service, Reno’s career intersected with major figures and events such as George Armstrong Custer, George Crook, the Great Sioux War of 1876, and the broader series of Indian Wars. His reputation has been debated by historians, public officials, journalists, and descendants ever since.

Early life and military career

Born in Wheeling in the former state of Virginia (now West Virginia), Reno was the son of an established local family connected to regional commerce and politics that linked to networks in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and was assigned to frontier posts within the Quartermaster Department and among detachments of the 7th Cavalry Regiment (United States), serving alongside officers such as George Armstrong Custer and under commanders tied to careers that included service in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Reno’s early postings placed him at forts and on marches across territories that included Kansas Territory, Nebraska Territory, Dakota Territory, and Montana Territory, where he became intimately involved with cavalry tactics, scouting, and campaigns against Plains nations including the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.

Role in the Indian Wars and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

During the campaigns that culminated in the Great Sioux War of 1876, Reno served as a major and battalion commander in the 7th United States Cavalry. In June 1876, under the operational command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Reno led a battalion in the field movement that resulted in the Battle of the Little Bighorn near the Little Bighorn River in what is now Montana. Facing large encampments of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors led by figures such as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Dull Knife (Morning Star), Reno conducted a mounted attack that culminated in a retreat across the Rosebud Creek and the Little Bighorn River bluffs. His decisions to withdraw from the timbered valley, to form defensive positions on the bluffs, and to wait for reinforcements from other detachments have been chronicled alongside contemporaneous reports from officers like Frederick Benteen, Thomas Custer, and Marcus Reno’s subordinates, as well as accounts from Lakota and Cheyenne participants recorded by Frank Grouard, Joseph De Barthe, and ethnographers such as George Bird Grinnell.

The immediate aftermath featured the annihilation of Custer’s immediate command on [June 25–26, 1876], with Reno’s battalion surviving but suffering casualties. The conduct of Reno and fellow officers was reported to the War Department and became the subject of public inquiry, press coverage in papers like the New York Herald and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and commentary by politicians in Washington, D.C. and veterans’ organizations including the Grand Army of the Republic.

Later life, controversies, and court of inquiry

Following the Little Bighorn campaign, Reno remained in military service but faced mounting controversy. Congressional delegations, Department of the Interior officials, and Army investigators scrutinized his battlefield decisions amid broader debates over Indian policy pursued by secretaries such as William W. Belknap and James G. Blaine. He was subject to a formal court of inquiry convened by the United States Army to examine conduct during the campaign; testimony included statements from witnesses like Frederick Benteen, James E. Calhoun, and enlisted men whose narratives fed press accounts by journalists such as John Finerty. The court ultimately exonerated some officers while leaving public opinion divided, leading to printed memoirs, commissioned histories, and polemics from figures like Major Marcus B. Reno (by contemporaries) and critics such as Elizabeth Custer. Debates over Reno’s decisions persisted in works by historians including Stanley Vestal, Elliot West, Earl B. Ricks, Stephen E. Ambrose, and Paul Andrew Hutton.

In civilian life after active command, Reno sought to rehabilitate his reputation through public lectures, correspondence with veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic, and involvement in veterans’ circles in states like Illinois and Ohio. Other controversies touched on claims concerning battlefield actions, the recovery of remains, and disputes over battlefield artifacts discussed in publications by William E. Varnum and curators at institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service.

Personal life and family

Reno married and established a household that connected him to families in Ohio and Illinois with kin who served in political and commercial roles in cities including Cleveland and Chicago. His family life produced descendants and relatives who participated in veterans’ reunions, correspondence with historians, and efforts surrounding memorialization at sites like the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Personal papers and letters later consulted by historians were preserved in regional archives and collections associated with institutions such as the Rockford Public Library and state historical societies in West Virginia and Illinois.

Legacy and historical assessments

Reno’s legacy is contested and integral to larger narratives about the Indian Wars, westward expansion, and Army leadership during the late 19th century. Historians, biographers, and museum curators—including staff at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, scholars in university programs at institutions such as Princeton University, University of Montana, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and writers affiliated with presses including University of Oklahoma Press and University of Nebraska Press—have reexamined his actions in monographs, journal articles, and public exhibitions. Reno appears in popular culture portrayals in film and literature addressing figures like George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse, and his name is commemorated in regional histories, battlefield markers, and debates over interpretation led by organizations such as the National Park Service and the American Battlefield Trust.

Scholarly reassessments range from critiques of tactical withdrawal to defenses emphasizing the chaos of multi-pronged operations and the scale of Lakota and Cheyenne resistance. Recent scholarship exploring primary sources—letters, court transcripts, and Lakota oral histories collected by anthropologists such as John G. Neihardt—has deepened understanding of Reno’s role without resolving all disputes, ensuring continued interest from historians, educators, and the public.

Category:1834 births Category:1889 deaths Category:United States Military Academy alumni Category:People of the Great Sioux War of 1876