George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer
Portrait by Mathew Brady, c. 1865
Born	(1839-12-05)December 5, 1839 New Rumley, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 25, 1876(1876-06-25) (aged 36) Little Bighorn, Montana Territory, U.S.
Buried	Initially on the battlefield; later reinterred in West Point Cemetery
Allegiance	United States Union
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861–1876
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel, USA Major General, USV
Commands held	Michigan Cavalry Brigade 3rd Cavalry Division 2nd Cavalry Division 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War Manassas campaign First Battle of Bull Run Peninsula Campaign Maryland campaign Battle of Antietam Battle of Chancellorsville Gettysburg campaign Battle of Gettysburg Battle of Wapping Heights Overland campaign Battle of the Wilderness Battle of Yellow Tavern Battle of Trevilian Station Valley campaigns of 1864 Battle of Guard Hill Third Battle of Winchester Battle of Cedar Creek Battle of Tom's Brook Siege of Petersburg Appomattox campaign American Indian Wars Comanche campaign Battle of Washita River Great Sioux War of 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn †
Awards	See below
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Bacon ​ (m. 1864)​
Relations	Thomas Custer, brother Boston Custer, brother James Calhoun, brother-in-law
Signature

George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War^[1] and the American Indian Wars.^[2]

Custer graduated from West Point and, though characterized as an inept for having been last in his graduating class, actually finished 34th out of a starting class of 108 candidates.^[3] Following graduation, he worked closely with General George B. McClellan and the future General Alfred Pleasonton, both of whom recognized his ability as a cavalry leader. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers aged 23. Only a few days afterwards, he fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he commanded the Michigan Brigade. Despite being outnumbered, Custer defeated J. E. B. Stuart's attack at East Cavalry Field.

In 1864, he served in the Overland Campaign and Philip Sheridan's army in the Shenandoah Valley, defeating Jubal Early at Cedar Creek. In 1865, he destroyed or captured the remainder of Early's forces at the Battle of Waynesboro. His division blocked the Army of Northern Virginia's final retreat and received the first flag of truce from the Confederates. He was present at Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. After the war, Custer was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army and sent west to fight in the Indian Wars, mainly against the Lakota and other Plains Peoples. On June 25, 1876, while leading the 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory against a coalition of Native American tribes,^[4] he was killed along with every soldier of the five companies he led. This event became known as "Custer's Last Stand".^[5]

His dramatic end was as controversial as the rest of his career, and the reaction to his life remains divided. His mythologized status in American history was partly established through the energetic lobbying of his wife Elizabeth Bacon "Libbie" Custer throughout her long widowhood which spanned six decades.^[6]