Winfield Scott Edgerly 27, 1875. From May to September 1876, the 7th Cavalry, including Edgerly, participated in the Sioux Expedition. Edgerly was promoted to first lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry effective June 25, 1876. The regiment was engaged in the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 26–27, 1876. Edgerly was the second in command of Company D, serving under Captain Thomas Weir; Company D was assigned to Captain Frederick Benteen's Battalion. Prior to the battle, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was discussing upcoming events with his junior officers; Edgerly expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of success; Custer replied that success depended on
5th Cavalry Regiment the Great Plains, and against the Utes in Colorado. On 8 July 1869 at the Republican River in Kansas, Cpl John Kyle made a valiant stand against attacking Indians resulting in him receiving the Medal of Honor. The 5th was then sent to Arizona, where it defeated the Apaches in 95 engagements from 1871 to 1874. Due to these actions, General William Sherman told a committee from the United States House of Representatives that "the services of the 5th Cavalry Regiment in Arizona were unequaled by that of any Cavalry Regiment." After General Custer and 264 of his men died