Henry Armstrong Reed

Henry Reed was born on April 27, 1858, in Monroe, Michigan. While he had several sisters, he was the only son of David and Lydia Reed.^[1] At a young age, he was nicknamed "Autie" by his mother— a nickname of his middle name Armstrong, which was shared with his uncle George Armstrong Custer.^[2]

Heavily influenced by his military uncles, he followed in their footsteps and left Monroe in May 1876, with his sister Emma, for Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory. There, he was hired on May 10 to serve as a beef herder for the 7th Cavalry Regiment, which was under the command of George Armstrong Custer.^[3]

Reed joined the 7th Cavalry Regiment shortly after the start of the Great Sioux War of 1876–77 in the Montana Territory, part of the larger American Indian Wars. While Reed was never officially enlisted as a soldier, he volunteered his services as such for the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Under normal circumstances, this would have been prohibited, but since he was part of the "Custer Clan" with his three uncles, he was granted permission by them to participate in the battle.^[4] The regiment's orderly, John Burkman, argued for Reed to stay back with the herding train where he belonged. Burkman himself was ordered to stay behind, and Reed taunted him by saying, "You're mad because you can't go along", before riding off on his horse for combat.^[2]