George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was an American cavalry commander in the Civil War and the Indian Wars who is best remembered for his defeat and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against a coalition of Native American tribes, led by Sitting Bull.

Controversial legacy

After his death, Custer achieved the lasting fame that eluded him in life. The public saw him as a tragic military hero and gentleman who sacrificed his life for his country. Custer's wife, Elizabeth, who accompanied him in many of his frontier expeditions, did much to advance this view with the publication of several books about her late husband: Boots and Saddles, Life with General Custer in Dakota (1885), Tenting on the Plains (1887), and Following the Guidon (1891). General Custer himself wrote about the Indian wars in My Life on the Plains (1874) and was the posthumous co-author of The Custer Story (1950).

Related Topics:
Elizabeth - 1885 - 1887 - 1891 - 1874 - 1950

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Custer would be called today a "media personality" who understood the value of good public relations—he frequently invited correspondents to accompany him on his campaigns, and their favorable reportage contributed to his high reputation that lasted well into the 20th century. It is believed that Custer was photographed more than any other Civil War officer. He was fond of flamboyant dress; a witness described his appearance as "one of the funniest looking beings you ever saw ... like a circus rider gone mad." After being promoted to brigadier general, Custer sported a uniform that included shiny jackboots, tight olive corduroy trousers, a wide-brimmed slouch hat, tight hussar jacket of black velveteen with silver piping on the sleeves, a sailor shirt with silver stars on his collar, and a red cravat. He wore his hair in long glistening ringlets liberally sprinkled with cinnamon-scented hair oil.

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The assessment of Custer's actions during the Indian Wars has undergone substantial reconsideration in modern times. (See revisionist history.) For many critics, Custer was the personification and culmination of the U.S. Government's ill-treatment of the Native American tribes. Others equate the actions of the 7th Cavalry under his command with Holocaust-type atrocities perpetrated during World War II, or with ethnic cleansing of the 1990s. Recent films and books including Little Big Man and Son of the Morning Star depict Custer as a cruel and murderous military commander whose actions today would warrant possible dismissal and court-martial. Much of this revisionism is unwarranted. Custer met Indians in battle just three times: Washita, where the Indian losses were small; Yellowstone skirmishes, and Little Big Horn. His other frontier work included diplomacy and rescuing raped women.

Related Topics:
Revisionist history - Holocaust - World War II - Ethnic cleansing - 1990s - Little Big Man - Son of the Morning Star - Court-martial - Washita

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Within the context of postbellum expansion, however, Custer's actions differed little from the standard military strategy of the time, which ultimately fragmented Native American culture in the American West.

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