Without water
By the morning of June 26, the command had been without water for many hours.
"The excitement and heat made our thirst almost maddening. The men were forbidden to use tobacco. They put pebbles in their mouths to excite the glands, some ate grass roots, but did not find relief; some tried to eat hard bread, but after chewing it awhile would blow it out of their mouths like so much flour."
Lt. Edward S. Godfrey
"...the sun beat down on use and we became so thirsty that it was almost impossible to swallow."
Pvt. Jacob Adams, H Company
The wounded were suffering terribly for lack of water. Doctor Porter advised Major Reno and Captain Benteen that some of the wounded would soon die unless they were given water. Benteen called for volunteers to go down to the river, in the face of Indian gunfire, to fill kettles and canteens. During the morning, several groups of volunteers went down the dep ravine in front of this point and obtained enough water to ease the wounded. Four men went down to the edge of the river bluff, above the mouth of the ravine, and stoode up, firing their carbines to pin down some of the Indians and draw fire away from the water carriers.
These four, and fifteen of the voluntee water carriers, later received the Medal of Honor. Only one of the water carriers, Pvt. Mike Madden of Company K, was seriously wounded in the dash to the river. An Indian bullet shattered his leg so badly that he had to be carried back to the defense position by Half Yellow Face, the Cow scout.
Madden's leg was later amputated in the temporary field hospital at Gibbon's camp in the valley floor. Madden survived to live many years after his discharge from the army, but for reasons unknown, he was not awarded the Medal of Honor, nor was Half Yellow Face.
The Medal of Honor was awarded to 24 men of the Reno-Benteen command for such brave deeds as retrieving an ammunition-laden pack mule from within Indian lines; for conspicuous gallantry on the firing line; and for recovering the body of Lt. Benjamin Hodgson from within the Indian lines.