Well, it wouldn't have made too much difference to the ultimate fate of the Indians...but it would have made a hell of a big difference to the length of Custer's lifespan, I think. ;-D He might even have gone on to serve in Congress. After all, Crook was repulsed by Crazy Horse at the Battle of the Rosebud, and Crook went on to a glorious career after that.

If Custer's unit had extricated itself from Little Big Horn in reasonably good shape, I'm sure they would have spun it into a tale of bravery and grit that would have served Custer very well for helping fulfull his further ambitions.

The papers would have said something like:

"Severely outnumbered by the howling Indian hordes, the courageous 7th Cavalry demonstrated matchless skill and endurance under Custer's inspired command, and they inflicted great loss upon their savage adversaries, writing another glorious chapter in the history of the US Cavalry...blah, blah, blah!...."

Yeah, I bet it would have made great reading back East. ;-D