GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER
Name: George Armstrong Custer
Born: 5 December 1839 New Rumley, Ohio
Died: 25 June 1876 Little Bighorn, Montana
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 - June 25, 1876) was a United States
Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
At the start of the Civil War, Custer was a cadet at the United States Military
Academy and his class's graduation was accelerated so that they could enter the
war; Custer graduated last in his class. He served at the First Battle of Bull
Run and was a staff officer for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in the Army of the
Potomac's 1862 Peninsula Campaign. In 1863, early in the Gettysburg Campaign,
Custer's association with cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton earned
him promotion from first lieutenant to brigadier general of volunteers at the
age of 23.
Custer established a reputation as an aggressive cavalry brigade commander
willing to take personal risks by leading his Michigan Brigade into battle, such
as the mounted charges at Hunterstown and East Cavalry Field at the Battle of
Gettysburg. In 1864, with the Cavalry Corps under the command of Maj. Gen.
Philip Sheridan, Custer led his "Wolverines", and later a division, through the
Overland Campaign, including the Battle of Trevilian Station, where Custer was
humiliated by having his division trains overrun and his personal baggage
captured by the Confederates. Custer and Sheridan defeated the Confederate army
of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. In 1865, Custer
played a key role in the Appomattox Campaign, with his division blocking Robert
E. Lee's retreat on its final day.
At the end of the Civil War, Custer was promoted to major general of volunteers.
In 1866, he was appointed to the regular army position of lieutenant colonel of
the 7th U.S. Cavalry and served in the Indian Wars. He was defeated and killed
at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, against a coalition of Native
American tribes composed almost exclusively of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho
warriors, and led by the Sioux chiefs Crazy Horse and Gall and by the Hunkpapa
seer and medicine man, Sitting Bull. This confrontation has come to be popularly
known in American history as Custer's Last Stand.
Name: George Armstrong Custer
Born: 5 December 1839 New Rumley, Ohio
Died: 25 June 1876 Little Bighorn, Montana
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 - June 25, 1876) was a United States
Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
At the start of the Civil War, Custer was a cadet at the United States Military
Academy and his class's graduation was accelerated so that they could enter the
war; Custer graduated last in his class. He served at the First Battle of Bull
Run and was a staff officer for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in the Army of the
Potomac's 1862 Peninsula Campaign. In 1863, early in the Gettysburg Campaign,
Custer's association with cavalry commander Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton earned
him promotion from first lieutenant to brigadier general of volunteers at the
age of 23.
Custer established a reputation as an aggressive cavalry brigade commander
willing to take personal risks by leading his Michigan Brigade into battle, such
as the mounted charges at Hunterstown and East Cavalry Field at the Battle of
Gettysburg. In 1864, with the Cavalry Corps under the command of Maj. Gen.
Philip Sheridan, Custer led his "Wolverines", and later a division, through the
Overland Campaign, including the Battle of Trevilian Station, where Custer was
humiliated by having his division trains overrun and his personal baggage
captured by the Confederates. Custer and Sheridan defeated the Confederate army
of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. In 1865, Custer
played a key role in the Appomattox Campaign, with his division blocking Robert
E. Lee's retreat on its final day.
At the end of the Civil War, Custer was promoted to major general of volunteers.
In 1866, he was appointed to the regular army position of lieutenant colonel of
the 7th U.S. Cavalry and served in the Indian Wars. He was defeated and killed
at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, against a coalition of Native
American tribes composed almost exclusively of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho
warriors, and led by the Sioux chiefs Crazy Horse and Gall and by the Hunkpapa
seer and medicine man, Sitting Bull. This confrontation has come to be popularly
known in American history as Custer's Last Stand.