General George Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio and spent much of his childhood with his half sister in Michigan. General Custer’s family originated from Germany and their family name was Kusher. He had four bothers and sisters, including Thomas and Boston Custer who were killed with him at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
In Custer’s early career, before he went to West Point Military Academy he taught in an Ohio school. Then he went on to West Point Military Academy where he had a reputation for being lazy and untidy. He enjoyed playing practical jokes on fellow cadets at the Academy. At the end of his time there he was placed last in his class.
Shortly after graduating he failed in his duty as an officer to stop a fight between two cadets. He was court-marshalled but was saved from punishment because of the huge need for officers in the Civil War.
During the civil war his bravery was valued by some officers and he was made a Brigadier-General. He was again court-martialled in 1872 for deserting his post in the West. General Stanley said of Custer he was, “A cold blooded, untruthful, unprincipled man. He is universally despised by all the officers in his regiment.”
George Custer, however was very confident in himself and he was determined to gain fame and fortune and enjoy the glory of a successful soldier.
He was very vain and took a great deal of care over his appearance; he took many photographs of himself and made his own uniform so he could look his best.
I think that Custer did what he did at the battle of Little Bighorn because he wanted to prove that he was the bravest man in the US. Also, I think that he wanted to prove to everyone in the Army that he was not a ‘cold blooded, untruthful and unprincipled man’ and that he was a hero and he could beat the Indians on his own by demonstrating his generalship.
The US’s plan was to send out the army and to try and wipe out the Indians completely. Once the Indians were located, a three – pronged attack was planned. General Custer was to travel south along Rosebud Creek and advance up the Bighorn Valley. He received strict instructions not to attack and to wait for Terry and Gibbon.
Custer did not follow the exact route given to him, instead of going round the Wolf Mountains he went through them. He ended up on high land right next to the Sioux base and was in view of the entire enemy camp. Part of Custer’s plan was that when the Indians saw the soldiers approaching they would run away and be cowardly; little did he know that the Indians were ready and determined to fight, and win.
Custer used basic tactics and he spilt his troops up to surround the enemy. On previous campaigns this tactic had been successful but this time these tactics did not work.
Reno and Benteen were sent up the Little Bighorn Valley but came under attack from the Indians. Custer went along the north bank but when he tried to cross the river to attack the Indian village he was prevented from doing so because of quicksand. Custer was forced up onto the bluffs above the river where, as I mentioned earlier, the Sioux spotted them. Then Custer was attacked by the Indians, the Indians were much better equipped and all of Custer’s men including Custer were killed. The only eye witnesses were Indians.
Here are two pictures about the army’s plan.
General Custer made many mistakes in the war of the Little Bighorn the main one being that he ignored his orders to wait for Terry and Gibbon. He thought that he could kill all of the Indians himself even though he had been warned that the Indians greatly outnumbered the US army troops.
Also Custer ignored the fact that many of the soldiers were saying that they did not have nearly enough ammunition to fight so many Indians. Whilst the US army didn’t have enough ammunition for a fight, the Indian warriors were equipped with Winchester Rifles which could shoot several rounds in few seconds.
Custer had 600 men with him and inside the Indian encampment they had about 2000 warriors. The Indian camp was huge with about 1000 tipis and 7000 people. Custer was informed of this but once again he ignored the warning and still was determined to defeat the Indians with his small and poorly equipped force. Custer and his troops had just come on a long journey from Fort Abraham Lincoln and his men were very tired, Custer still made them fight as soon as they got close enough to the camp. This would definitely give the Indians the upper hand because they would be fresh because they would have slept and be well fed.
Also, another one of Custer’s mistakes was that he divided his forces and they attacked in different places. If they had stuck together they would have had a much better chance of survival and more importantly, victory.
General Custer was a brave man but his judgement on this occasion was poor and proved to be a disaster, in some peoples eyes Custer died at the Battle Of Little Bighorn as an American hero, but other people believed he died as a stupid man who disobeyed orders and lost the battle against the Indians. I think that his mistakes and personality lead to the defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
