Editing Battle of the Little Bighorn (section)

===Reconstitution of the 7th Cavalry===
Beginning in July, the 7th Cavalry was assigned new officers<ref name="hils">{{Cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w-VCAAAAIAAJ&q=record+of+living+officers+of+the+united+states+army| title = Records of Living Officers of the United States Army (1884)| access-date =January 17, 2008| year = 1883| isbn = 978-0722293980| last1 = Hamersly| first1 = Lewis Randolph| publisher = Hamersly}}</ref>{{NoteTag|Major Elmer I. Otis of the [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st Cavalry]] was promoted to replace Custer effective June 25, 1876, but did not report until February 1877. Two 1876 West Point graduates designated for the 7th Cavalry were advanced to 1st lieutenant effective 10 days after their graduation. Four others appointed to other regiments, along with eight experienced 2nd lieutenants, were transferred and designated one to each company of the 7th. However, five declined the appointment, replaced by 2nd lieutenants of infantry and unappointed new officers in July and August 1876. Only three replacements were able to report while the 7th was still in the field.}} and recruiting efforts began to fill the depleted ranks. The regiment, reorganized into eight companies, remained in the field as part of the Terry Expedition, now based on the Yellowstone River at the mouth of the Bighorn and reinforced by Gibbon's column. On August 8, 1876, after Terry was further reinforced with the 5th Infantry, the expedition moved up Rosebud Creek in pursuit of the Lakota. It met with Crook's command, similarly reinforced, and the combined force, almost 4,000 strong, followed the Lakota trail northeast toward the [[Little Missouri River (North Dakota)|Little Missouri River]]. Persistent rain and lack of supplies forced the column to dissolve and return to its varying starting points. The 7th Cavalry returned to Fort Abraham Lincoln to reconstitute. The regimental commander, Colonel [[Samuel D. Sturgis]], returned from his detached duty in St. Louis, Missouri. Sturgis led the 7th Cavalry in the campaign against the [[Nez Perce War|Nez Perce]] in 1877.