Thomas Custer Henry Harrington actually led Company C during the battle. George and Thomas' younger brother, Boston Custer, also died in the fighting, as did other Custer relatives and friends. It was widely rumored that Rain-in-the-Face, who had escaped from captivity and participated at the Little Bighorn, cut out Tom Custer's heart after the battle. The chief denied it later during an interview. Custer's body was so badly mutilated the remains were identified only by a recognizable tattoo of his initials on his arm. Tom Custer was first buried on the battlefield. He was exhumed with other soldiers the next year and
George Armstrong Custer and form a skirmish line. They were soon overcome by mounted Lakota and Cheyenne warriors who counterattacked "en masse" against Reno's exposed left flank, forcing Reno and his men to take cover in the trees along the river. Eventually, however, this position became untenable, and the troopers were forced into a bloody retreat up onto the bluffs above the river, where they made their own stand. This, the opening action of the battle, cost Reno a quarter of his command. Custer may have seen Reno stop and form a skirmish line as Custer led his command to the northern end