The military Career of George Armstrong Custer

Indeed, Custer’s abilities came to the fore during the Gettysburg campaign when the Rebel cavalry under Stuart attempted to attack the rear of the Union army. In a series of charges Custer’s outnumbered Michigan Brigade cavalry sent the Confederates packing and possibly saved the Army of the Potomac and the Union from a crippling defeat. Though Custer’s charges were considered reckless and foolhardy by some he correctly ascertained the threat posed and took the appropriate course. Moreover, by leading the attacks he encouraged his troops to stand up to and defeat a numerically stronger enemy. Valid assessments of Custer the soldier and commander must take into account his exploits and successes during the Civil War.

One could possibly adopt the attitude that Custer was a capable commander when faced with a regular standing army like the Confederate army, but when it came to fighting Native Americans he was out of his depth. The Battle of the Little Bighorn must surely bear this assumption out? Again, one must reflect upon another campaign to make a fair assessment. At the Battle of the Washita in 1868 Custer  distinguished himself against a new enemy.

Though Custer had been recently removed from commander of the recently formed 7th US cavalry he was reinstated in 1868 by General Phillip Sheridan who had been Custer’s commander during the later stages of the Civil War. Sheridan must have had plenty of confidence in Custer ability to take on the Plains Indians and Sheridan was not to be disappointed. In the depths of winter on November 27th 1868 Custer, with the help of Native American scouts, led the 7th Cavalry through falling snow into the Valley of the Washita and surprised and captured a Cheyenne village with the loss of only one officer and three men.

However, it is the campaign of 1876 and the disaster of the Little Bighorn that Custer will always be remembered for. It is not the object of this article to debate the pros and cons of Custer’s strategy and whether he or superiors or subordinates were responsible for the defeat. The point that should be considered when writing a school or college paper on the subject of Custer the soldier is that it is essential to look at the whole of his army career rather than just his last campaign as significant as it was. The successes as well as the tragic events of June 25th 1876 need to be reflected upon.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia