Marcus A. Reno
New Cumberland, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Maj., 7th U.S. Cavalry at Battle of Little Big Horn, 1876; Lt. Col. Geo. A. Custer & the troops he led were killed, but Reno & most of his command survived. During the civil war, Reno helped defend this region against Confederate invaders. His farm was near here.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Marcus A. Reno, whose farm lay near here, is remembered for one of the most scrutinized moments in American military history. As a major in the 7th U.S. Cavalry, he led a battalion at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876; while George Armstrong Custer and the men with him were annihilated, Reno and most of his command dug in and survived. Earlier, during the Civil War, he had helped defend this stretch of Pennsylvania against Confederate incursions.
Why it matters
Reno's local roots tie a Pennsylvania community to the tragic climax of the Plains Indian Wars, a defeat that shocked the nation and hardened federal policy toward the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.
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Related people
- · Marcus A. Reno
- · George A. Custer
Related events
- · Battle of the Little Bighorn
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
John W. Geary (1819-1873)
New Cumberland, PA · est. 1995
John W. Geary lived one of the most eventful public lives of 19th-century America. He served as a colonel in the Mexican War, became the first postmaster and first mayor of San Francisco during the Gold Rush, and was appointed governor of the volatile Kansas Territory during the "Bleeding Kansas" crisis over slavery. He then won distinction as a Union major general in the Civil War before serving two terms as governor of Pennsylvania from 1867 to 1873. His home stood just east of here in New Cumberland.
George Croghan (c.1718-1782)
Hampden Township, PA · est. 2021
Around 1740 the Irish immigrant George Croghan set up a trading post on this ground and built it into one of the most far-reaching British trade networks in colonial America. Reaching west into the French-contested Ohio Country, he learned Native American languages and customs to secure the furs that Europe craved. For three decades he was among Britain's most important go-betweens at treaty conferences with Indian nations.
Susquehannock Village at Lemoyne
Lemoyne, PA · est. 2021
Excavations near Lemoyne in the early 2000s revealed a palisaded Susquehannock village from the early 1600s, its ground scattered with iron, brass, and glass trade beads. Those artifacts trace early contact with Dutch traders and the fledgling English colony at Jamestown between 1610 and 1624, when goods moved along Native networks long before Europeans settled the region. The findings deepened understanding of how the Susquehannock organized their villages and their world on the eve of sustained colonial pressure.
Harris' Ferry - PLAQUE
Harrisburg, PA · est. 1915
On the banks of the Susquehanna here stood the landing of Harris' Ferry, first granted to John Harris in 1733 and for half a century the name by which the future Harrisburg was known. It was among the most important crossings in early Pennsylvania, funneling settlers, traders, and pack trains westward into the interior and on toward the Ohio Valley. From this modest ferry grew the city that would become the state capital.