View source for Weir, Thomas Benton

{{Infobox military person
|name= Thomas Benton Weir
|birth_date= 28 Sept 1838
|death_date= 9 Dec 1876
|birth_place= 
|death_place=[[New York City]]
|placeofburial= 
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image= 
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]]<br/>[[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
|branch= [[United States Army]]<br/>[[Union Army]]
|serviceyears=1861&ndash;76
|rank=[[File:Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg|35px]] [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] ([[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]])
|commands=Company D, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th U.S. Cavalry]]
|unit=
|battles=[[American Civil War]]
[[Indian Wars]]
|awards=
|laterwork=
}}
'''Captain Thomas Benton Weir''' (1838–1876) was an officer in the [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)]], notable for his participation in the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]], also known as [[Custer's Last Stand]], where Weir led a force that attempted to come to Custer's aid, but was driven back to established defensive positions.  A hill on the battlefield, Weir Point, is named in his honor and marks the furthest point of the advance of the would-be relief force.

Reportedly deeply depressed by his experience in the historic battle, Weir's health declined, and he died only a few months afterwards.

==Civil War Experience==

Weir graduated from the [[University of Michigan]] in June 1861.  He enlisted to fight in the [[American Civil War]] in late August, and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in October.  In June 1862 Weir was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.  

Shortly afterwards, he was taken prisoner by the [[Confederate States Army]] and was promoted again to Captain during the seven months he was held captive. After his release, Weir was given the job of Assistant Inspector General on the staff of (brevet) Major General [[George Armstrong Custer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://custer.over-blog.com/article-15667694.html|title=Thomas Benton Weir (1838-1876)|accessdate=July 15, 2010}}</ref>

==Battle of the Little Bighorn and Weir Point==

During the [[Indian Wars]] on the [[Great Plains]], Weir commanded Company D of the 7th Cavalry under Custer, as part of a two-pronged attack on a large [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] encampment on the [[Little Bighorn River]] in Montana on June 25, 1876. Custer had led a detachment north to attack the camp from that direction.  Weir's Company D and two other companies, with Major [[Marcus Reno]] in overall command, attacked the south end of the village, but Reno's forces retreated from their initial attack on the south end of the village to a hilltop nearby, now known as Reno Hill, where they were joined by a detachment led by Captain [[Frederick Benteen]] as well as a pack train carrying supplies. 

Without orders to do so, Weir (and eventually other soldiers including Benteen) moved north from the defensive position in the direction of the sound of heavy firing in an attempt to support Custer.  The effort was too late to save Custer and over 200 of his men, all of whom were killed, and Weir and the soldiers of the attempted relief force retreated to Reno Hill where they were under attack for another day, until the Native American warriors withdrew. <ref name="Connell">{{cite book|last=Connell|first=Evan|title=Son of the Morning Star|publisher=North Poin Press|location=New York|year=1984|pages=281–283|isbn=0-86547-510-5|accessdate=August 5, 2009}}</ref>

==Weir Point==

Also known as Weir Ridge, Weir Point is about three miles south from where Custer and the soldiers with him were killed after they had first attacked the Native American village.  Weir Point is the location where Captain Weir and those with him realized that Custer was beyond their aid, and that hostile warriors were advancing towards the relief force in substantial numbers.  From Weir Point the surviving members of the 7th Cavalry withdrew back to the already-established defensive positions on Reno Hill.

In the present era, Weir Point is a modest pull-off on the paved lane that ends at Reno Hill, also known as the Reno-Benteen Battlefield.  Weir Point is marked with an illustrated roadside sign naming the hill and showing an artist's rendition of what the artist believed Weir and those with him saw: clouds of dust rising from the bluffs to the north where Custer and his men were wiped out.

==Weir's Decline and Death==

Deeply shaken by his experience after the famous battle and showing symptoms of [[post-traumatic stress]], Weir's mental health declined rapidly.  Weir wrote letters to Custer's widow, [[Elizabeth Bacon Custer]], hinting at untold matters regarding her husband's death.  Formally posted back to New York City on recruiting duty, in the final months of his life he refused to go outside, began to drink heavily and in his last days was said to be extremely nervous, to the point of being unable to swallow.  He died in New York City less than six months after Custer's death, reportedly in a state of extreme [[Depression (mood)|depression]].<ref name="Connell">{{cite book|last=Connell|first=Evan|title=Son of the Morning Star|publisher=North Poin Press|location=New York|year=1984|pages=283–285|isbn=0-86547-510-5|accessdate=August 5, 2009}}</ref>  He was buried at the [[Fort Columbus]] post cemetery on [[Governors Island]] in New York City. In the 1880s his remains were reinterred at [[Cypress Hills National Cemetery]] in Brooklyn, New York.

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uh04wasPV4/ A portrayal of Weir from the TV movie ''Son of the Morning Star'': Weir disobeys orders as he tries to save Custer]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              =Weir, Thomas
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Union Army soldier
| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1838
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
| DATE OF DEATH     = 1876
| PLACE OF DEATH    =[[New York City]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Thomas}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1876 deaths]]
[[Category:Union Army soldiers]]
[[Category:American Civil War prisoners of war]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:People of the Great Sioux War of 1876]]


Capt. Thomas Weir, a Custer loyalist, drank himself to death within six months of the battle. He was 38.

After Reno's scramble across the Little Bighorn River to the bluffs above, firing could be heard from the direction where Custer was presumed to be. Weir, without authorization from Reno, led an advance toward the sound of the guns and got within three miles of Last Stand Hill before being driven back.

He reportedly saw Indians firing at objects on the ground, but died before clarifying what he may have seen.

The ghost that he left on the battlefield followed him to New York City, where he had been assigned as a cavalry recruiter. Reclusive, depressed and haunted, his alcoholism finally swallowed him on Dec. 9, 1876.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/features/magazine/cavalry-men-s-lives-come-to-troubled-ends/article_4d4ad79d-d267-5179-bea7-e34702a8b972.html#ixzz2lcruLrBv