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Marcus RenoMajor Marcus Albert Reno was born November 15, 1834, in Carrollton, Illinois. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, 1851-1857, graduating 20th in a class of 38 graduates. He was appointed brevet second lieutenant, 1st Dragoons, on July 1, 1857. He served in the United States Army in the American Civil War. He married Mary Hannah Ross in 1863. They had one son, Robert Ross Reno. He left the army after the war. Reno was appointed Major, 7th U.S. Cavalry in 1868. His wife died in 1874. In 1876, he participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, assuming command upon the discovery of the death of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. Responding to charges of cowardice and drunkenness at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Reno later demanded and was granted a Court of Inquiry. The Court convened in Chicago, IL in January of 1879, and called as witnesses most of the surviving officers who had been in the fight. While the Court did not sustain any of the charges against Reno, neither did it did find his conduct praiseworthy. Reno was court-martialled in 1877 and again in 1879 for issues of conduct. The latter episode resulted in his dismissal from the service in 1880. He later remarried and resided in Washington, DC, where he worked for a time as a clerk in the Bureau of Pensions, and attempted unsuccessfully to obtain reinstatement in the army. He died on March 30, 1889, in Washington, of complications following surgery for oral cancer, and he was interred in a pauper's grave. In 1967, upon petition of his family, his records were corrected to show an honorable discharge, and his remains were removed to the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery. Further Reading: - Nichols, Ron. Men with Custer. Hardin, MT: Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association, 2000.
*Nichols, Ron. In Custer's Shadow: Major Marcus Reno. Ft. Collins: Old Army Press, 1999.
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