Yates was born in
Albany, New York. He met Custer in
Monroe, Michigan, and they became close personal friends. During the
American Civil War, Yates was a
second lieutenant in the
4th Michigan Infantry. Custer helped him secure a position on General
Alfred Pleasonton's staff. Yates earned several
brevet promotions in rank for his actions during the war. He fought at the
First Battle of Manassas,
Antietam,
Fredericksburg, and
Gettysburg. After the Civil War, in 1866, Yates was appointed a
captain in the 7th Cavalry. He served under Lt. Colonel Custer, commanding F Company. He was a member of the so-called "Custer Clan" or "Custer Gang" of close-knit friends and relatives of the General. Yates was killed during the Battle of the Little Bighorn and fell near Custer. According to some accounts, he is said to have taken command of the battalion after the initial fighting at Medicine Tail Coulee, where Custer may have been wounded. Other accounts suggest that he commanded a wing of Custer's battalion, composed of Companies E and F. He was initially buried on the battlefield, but was reinterred in
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He left a widow and three children. His wife would spend many years as a teacher at the
Carlisle Indian School in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She would later be crushed to death in a
New York City Subway accident in 1914. Yates' brother-in-law, Richard Roberts, had accompanied the Custer column as a civilian herder and part-time correspondent for the
New York Sun, but had to drop out 70 miles from the Little Bighorn when his pony gave out, thereby perhaps sparing his life. ==Honors==