The military Career of George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer is a very emotive figure in American military history even though more than a century has passed since his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He has been dismissed as one of the worst failures of the United States army and romanticised by Hollywood portrayals of his life and times including the entertaining, but inaccurate 1941 film They Died with their Boots On. All this serves to muddy the waters and make an accurate assessment of Custer the soldier difficult to achieve. However, to the serious student of history a good starting point in unravelling the myths that swirl around Custer the man is to look at his military career in its entirety rather merely focusing on the events of June 25th 1876.

Custer was a professional soldier who graduated from West Point in 1861 at the outset of the Civil War. The contemporary evidence suggests that he did not distinguish himself at West Point, but as a Graduate he was a valuable commodity because the officer corps of the US army had been decimated by the decision of many southern officers to join the Confederacy including Lee who was the nation’s foremost soldier.

Once in the field Custer was quick to distinguish himself in battle and soon came to the attention of senior commanders who helped Custer advance his career. As early as 1862 Custer impressed General McClellan, the commander of the Army of the Potomac, by leading a successful foray against enemy troops across the Chickahominy River. This deed earner Custer promotion to the rank of Captain. However, it was under cavalry General Alfred Pleasanton that Custer’s career really began to take off. Shortly before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 Pleasanton personally promoted Custer to the rank of Brigadier General. In response to skeptics Pleasanton reputedly stated that Custer was the best cavalry commander on the planet.

The demands of wartime often mean that promotion can come quicker to a soldier than it does in times of peace. However, Custer’s elevation during the Civil War is remarkable even though other young officers such as Wesley Meritt also achieved high rank. In reality, it is doubtful whether Custer would have achieved the rank of Brigadier General if he had not shown potential as a commander in the field. Whatever one thinks of McClellan and Pleasanton they were not foolish enough to promote subordinates if there had been no advantage in it.