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[[File:Battle_of_Washita_map.gif|thumbnail|300px|Map of the Battle of the Washita]]

One month before George Custer rejoined his unit after being incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Generals Sherman and Sheridan were planning the “Winter Campaign.” At that time, the 7th U.S. Cavalry was controlled by General William T. Sherman, commander of the Military Division of the Missouri. They were headquartered at Fort Leavenworth, Missouri under the purview of General Philip Sheridan, commander of the Department of the Missouri. They were the key component of General Alfred Sully’s District of the Upper Arkansas. Major Joel Elliott was in command of the 7th while Custer was serving his suspension. Elliot was a seasoned war veteran who served with the Indiana cavalry during the Civil War. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Stones River, and Perryville in addition to being present at Vicksburg in 1863. He was ordered out of Fort Leavenworth in April 1868 and was to proceed with Troops A, D, E, G, and K to Fort Larned.<ref>Lieutenant F.M. Gibson, unpublished account of the Battle of the Washita, quoted in Chandler, 8.</ref>Along the way, Elliott began to see Cheyenne war signals and Indian trails. This was the onset of the crucial fight that was imminent and the fate of Major Joel H. Elliott was forever altered.

== Movements of the 7th ==