Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834–1889) was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne. He is most noted for his role in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Early life and career

Reno was born November 15, 1834, in Carrollton, Illinois, the fourth child of James and Charlotte Reno. At the age of 15, he sent a letter to the Secretary of War inquiring about the qualifications necessary to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He attended West Point from 1851 until 1857, graduating 20th in a class of 38. He was brevetted second lieutenant, 1st Dragoons, on July 1, 1857, and assigned to duty in the Pacific Northwest in Oregon.

He was in the Union Army in the Civil War, serving as a captain at Antietam in the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment and during the Gettysburg Campaign. Reno was wounded at Kelly's Ford in Virginia on March 17, 1863, and was given the brevet rank of major for gallant and meritorious conduct. That same year, he married Mary Hannah Ross of Harrisburg, who would bear him one son, Robert Ross Reno. They owned a farm near New Cumberland, Pennsylvania in Cumberland County.

Reno was present at the 1864 battles of Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station and Cedar Creek. After serving in a variety of staff positions, he was brevetted lieutenant colonel in October. In December, Reno became brevet colonel of the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, later commanding a brigade against John Mosby's guerrillas. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier general for “meritorious services during the war.”

Postbellum career

After the war, Reno made improper advances on the wife of another military officer, which resulted in a suspension from rank and pay for 2 years. Responding to charges of cowardice and drunkenness at the Little Bighorn, Reno later demanded and was granted a Court of Inquiry. The court convened in Chicago in January of 1879, and called as witnesses most of the surviving officers who had been in the fight. While the court did not sustain any of the charges against Reno, neither did it did find his conduct praiseworthy.

Originally buried in an unmarked grave in Washington, DC's Oak Hill Cemetery, his remains were re-interred in the 1960s with the men of the 7th US Cavalry in Custer National Cemetery, within the Little Bighorn battlefield.

United States Army officers | West Point graduates | Native American wars | George Armstrong Custer