Marcus Reno

Marcus Albert Reno
Marcus A. Reno
Born(1834-11-15)November 15, 1834
Carrollton, Illinois, US
DiedMarch 30, 1889(1889-03-30) (aged 54)
Washington, D.C., US
AllegianceUnited States
Union
BranchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1857–1880
Rank Colonel
Brevet Brigadier General
Unit1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment
7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
Commands12th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment
Battles / warsAmerican Indian Wars
American Civil War
Alma materUnited States Military Academy Class of 1857

Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War against the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne.

Reno is recognized for his prominent role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where he did not support Custer's battlefield position, remaining instead in a defensive formation with his troops about 4 miles (6.4 km) away. There has been longstanding controversy over his command decisions in the course of one of the most infamous defeats in U.S. military history.