General George Armstrong Custer
During the course of this Assessment I will be sceptically and
analytically examining the role and background of General George
Armstrong Custer during the Indian Conflict at the Battle of Little
Bighorn, and during the Civil War.
All sources of information or evidence used will be thoroughly
examined in order to eliminate as much bias as possible. The essay has
been written using subheadings for easier navigation and for clearer
understanding of my findings.
The main aim of this Investigation is to answer the question, “Was
Custer a Hero or a Villain?”
What is a Hero?
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A Hero, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is:
1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent
endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a
man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows
great courage
2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b:
the central figure in an event, period, or movement
3: plural using heroes: SUBMARINE 2
4: an object of extreme admiration and devotion: IDOL
“One peoples’ hero is another peoples’ villain”
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Background and Custer’s Death:
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George Custer was born on December 5, 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio. He was
educated in the United States Military Academy. By the time he
graduated the American Civil War was under way; and so he was assigned
to the Union Army as a second lieutenant. He arrived at the front
during the First Battle of Bull Run, and by June 1863, he was in
command of a cavalry brigade, with the rank of brigadier general of
volunteers. They fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania under the command
of General Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.
As major general of volunteers, Custer participated in most of the
actions of the last campaign (1864 – 1865) of General Ulysses S.
Grant.
In 1866, after the war, Custer applied for a leave of absence to
To understand the battle of Little Big Horn and the decisions made on the battlefield, one must first understand the leaders that commanded both the 7TH Cavalry and the informal leaders of the Native American tribes. We must also know about the events that led up to the infamous Battle of Little Big Horn.
On June 25, 1876, The Battle of Little Bighorn took place near the Black Hills in Montana. This was one of the most controversial battles of the 20th century and the line between good guys and bad guys was grey at best. Gen. George Armstrong Custer (reduced to LTC after the civil war) had 366 men of the 7thU.S. Cavalry under his command that day. Sitting Bull (A Medicine Man) led 2000 braves of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes (Klos, 2013). At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indians savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7thcavalry to tell what really happened.
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Author and Indian Activist, Vine Deloria makes compelling statements in chapters 1 and 5 of his Indiana Manifesto, “Custer Died For Your Sins.” Although published in 1969 this work lays important historical ground work for understanding the plight of the Indian. Written during the turbulent civil rights movement, Deloria makes many comparisons to the Black plight in the United States. He condemns the contemporary views toward Indians widely help by Whites. He argues that Indians are wrongly seen through the historical lens of a pipe smoking, bow and arrow wielding savage. Deloria views the oppressors and conquerors of the Indian mainly in the form of the United States federal government and Christian missionaries. The author’s overall thesis is that whites view Indians the way they want to see them which is not based in reality. The behavior of whites towards Indians reflects this false perception in law, culture and public awareness.
The 7th Cavalry Regiment's destruction at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876 is the subject of over a century of debate. LTC George A. Custer failed to exercise four key responsibilities that were expected of him as the regiment’s commander. He failed to understand the problem and environment, visualize a feasible solution, clearly describe it to his subordinates, and effectively direct his forces. These four aspects of mission command are integral to the operations process and help Soldiers understand and execute their commander's intent. Custer's failure to properly fulfill his role in the operations process resulted in his death and a strategic defeat for the nation.
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What really happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn has spawned countless books and opinions as to why General Custer attacked the Sioux and Cheyenne on June 22, 1876. The books and online articles that recount the facts, timeline, and who survived were written based on facts but are not all unbiased in perspective. Most of these writers want to prove that Custer was either a hero or a villain. From the perspective of the general’s men, they saw him as a fearless leader, one of the few who would ride out in front of the battle, while those on the political end interpreted the general’s actions as selfish and reckless. Custer’s last stand gave him immortal status at the price of not only his own life; but also those of his entire brigade involved due to a tactical blunder. Unfortunately, the magnitude of this “mistake” cannot be over-looked, but to negate what he accomplished in the Civil War and Indian Wars is the argument that continues to rage on. Was General Custer really an American hero or an over aggressive general who was looking for fame and glory?
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