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Moylan and his surviving men from Company A followed Reno to the high ground where they were reinforced by Benteen’s battalion and
dug defensive positions on what is now known as Reno Hill. Benteen had received a message from Custer’s battalion reading: “Come on. Big Village. Be quick. Bring Packs. P.S. Bring Packs.”The men would have each originally carried 24 cartridges for their revolvers and 100 rounds of
ammunition for their Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbines when the battle began, certainly not enough ammo for a prolonged engagement against overwhelming numbers. While the Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbines were the primary weapons of the cavalry, a significant portion of the fighting during the Battle of Little Bighorn was done with revolvers which could be fired multiple times before reloading. Chief Gall and Horned
Horse recounted that many of the warriors killed in the fighting against Custer’s isolated detachments were shot by Custer’s men with revolvers during their last attacks in part because many of Custer’s men had lost their extra rifle ammo when they lost their horses and also because some of their carbines became jammed.