At about 2:20 p.m., as the regiment was strung out across difficult terrain near the Morass, Sergeant Daniel Kanipe arrived with Custer’s urgent verbal directive for Captain Benteen to “Come quick.” Benteen, who was still executing his wide‑swinging reconnaissance mission, suggested that the message might actually have been meant for Captain McDougall and the pack train. With his duty complete, Kanipe continued on, seeking McDougall and relaying both the urgency of Custer’s summons and Benteen’s guidance on how the pack train should proceed.
At approximately 2:40 p.m., as Benteen’s battalion approached the Reno Creek flats near the confluence of Reno Creek and the Little Bighorn River, Just above a small creek where Custer had briefly halted to water his horses, Trumpeter John Martin and Captain Frederick Benteen spotted each other. Martin delivered Custer’s written message: Trumpeter John Martin arrived carrying a written message from Custer.
Drafted by Adjutant Lieutenant William W. Cooke, the brief but historic note conveyed an urgent summons for Benteen to “Come quick,” emphasizing that Custer had encountered a “big village” and needed immediate support. Martin, having been dispatched from Custer’s column after the command halted on the bluffs above the valley, delivered the message and then continued down the trail toward the pack train:Upon hearing the shooting, Benteen is trying to decide what to do. The sound is moving to the right. He has the battalion approach the Little Bighorn River Ford A. The main Custer trail is going up the bluffs, he separates from his battalion and goes to the right, then veers to the river. The fight is heading to the bluffs. Benteen calls his men to follow him and the begin climbing up the bluffs.
Just above a small creek where Custer had briefly halted to water his horses, Trumpeter John Martin and Captain Frederick Benteen spotted each other. Martin delivered Custer’s written message:
“Benteen. Come on. Big village. Be quick. Bring packs. W. W. Cooke. P.S. Bring packs.”
As Benteen read the note, Martin reportedly called out to a friend, “The Indians are skedaddling!” Benteen also noticed that Martin’s horse was wounded, evidence that fighting had already occurred. After reading the message, Benteen turned to Lieutenant Charles A. Varnum and remarked, “Well, if he wants me to hurry, how does he expect me to be of service to him? I think I had better not wait for the packs.“
The message contained two distinct instructions: to come forward quickly and to bring the ammunition packs. In a major engagement with a large Indian village, ammunition was among the most critical resources a commander could require. Nevertheless, Benteen appears to have placed greater emphasis on the order to move rapidly than on Custer’s repeated instruction to “bring packs,” a phrase Cooke underscored by repeating it in a postscript. Whether this reflected a deliberate tactical judgment or a misunderstanding of Custer’s intentions remains one of the enduring controversies of the Little Bighorn campaign.