Frederick William Benteen (August 24, 1834 – June 22, 1898) was a military officer who first fought during the American Civil War.

He was appointed to commanding ranks during the Indian Campaigns and Great Sioux War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne.

After scouting the area of the left flank as ordered, Captain Benteen received a note from his superior officer George Armstrong Custer ordering him to quickly bring up the ammunition packs and join him in Custer's surprise attack on a large Native American encampment.

Benteen's failure to promptly comply with Custer's orders is one of the most controversial aspects of the famed battle.

Benteen subsequently served in the U.S. Cavalry another 12 years, being both honored by promotion and disgraced with a conviction for drunkenness by a military tribunal.

Theodore and Caroline moved their family to Virginia from Baltimore shortly after the birth of their first child, Henrietta Elizabeth, in October 1831.

A family crisis was ignited when Frederick joined the Union Army on September 1, 1861, as a first lieutenant in the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry Regiment.

In January 1867, Benteen departed for his new assignment with the 7th US Cavalry Regiment and its field commander Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.

In late July 1868, Benteen led an expedition to provide security for the Indian agents near Fort Larned.

On August 13, Benteen, commanding 30 troopers, encountered a Cheyenne raiding party along the banks of Elk Horn Creek near Fort Zarah.

This first undisputed victory of the 7th US Cavalry brought Benteen a brevet to colonel and the adoration of the settlers of central Kansas.

On October 13, Benteen and his men were assigned to escort a wagon train loaded with weapons and ammunition meant for the regiment.

In response to the continued Cheyenne raids, General Philip Sheridan devised a plan of punitive reprisals.

His troops would respond to Indian attacks by entering their winter encampments, destroying supplies and livestock, and killing those who resisted.

The cavalry was directed to travel in the dead of winter through a largely uncharted region, which required daring leadership.

However, shortly after the battle, Major Elliott and 19 men had pursued escaping warriors up the river and had yet to return: as such they were posted as missing.

Without revealing that the letter had been published without his knowledge or permission, Benteen admitted authorship, albeit with a hand on his pistol.

[citation needed] Captain Benteen still commanded H Troop of the Seventh US Cavalry regiment during an 1876 expedition to find the Lakota and Cheyenne and force them onto reservations.

He assigned Benteen command of a battalion comprising Troops D, H and K, tasked with searching on the left flank and securing any possible escape route.

"[6] The slow pack mules, carrying reserve ammunition and guarded by B Troop, had reached the marsh and were slaking their thirst.

He received the note, he read it, he thought enough of it to tuck it in a pocket, but he did not get the ammunition packs and rush forward to Custer's aid.

Instead, as he approached the battleground after his scouting trip he saw Major Reno's demoralized men attempting to organize a defensive position on the bluff and he chose to join them.

Then Reno's weakened command surely would have collapsed, and when General Terry arrived he would count every single man of the Seventh Cavalry dead.

Meanwhile, the battalion made up of Troops A, G and M, and led by Major Marcus Reno had attacked the southwest corner of the large village, farther down the Little Bighorn River, and had been routed with heavy casualties.

Three miles back, Captain Thomas McDougall, marching with the pack train, heard gunfire, "a dull sound that resounded through the hills".

One veteran of the battle said decades later: Reno proved incompetent and Benteen showed his indifference – I will not use the uglier words that have often been in my mind.

He was convicted and faced dismissal from the Army, but President Grover Cleveland reduced his sentence to a one-year suspension.

While stationed in eastern Missouri in 1856, Benteen became acquainted with Catharine "Kate" Louisa Norman, a young woman recently arrived in St. Louis from Philadelphia.

Their fourth child, Frederick Wilson, born March 27, 1873, at Atlanta, Georgia, survived, living until July 20, 1956.

Benteen died in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 22, 1898, leaving his widow Kate and son Frederick.