Is it more courageous to die in battle with the men you wrongly sent there or to return to Fort Apache, face the army brass, and the relatives of the dead, and answer for your mistake? I suggest the Fonda character took the easy way out. And, he probably knew that the army would not publicly admit that one of their commanders had made such a foolishly, deadly error. Although he did have his daughter's reputation to consider also.
shareAlthough it probably would have been covered up, Colonel Thursday screwed the pooch and knew it. His options at the time were 1. Return alive, certainly under arrest by York, get court matialled, and face dishonor. Not going with his men would also have put him at potential risk of being shot by a man he just called coward under circumstances easily covered up (though York shows no inclination to do just that, wrongly calling someone a coward in the 19th Century immediately disqualified you from being treated as a man of honor), 2, blow his brains out (likely to be covered up by York...the short story this was based on had just that ending)3. regain some honor by dying with his men. York, if he was going strictly by the book, was under no obligation to let him die with his men. And yes, he had his daughter's reputation and his own to consider. For that time period, better a dead hero than a live disgrace.
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