George Armstrong Custer: Between Myth and Reality

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George Armstrong Custer stalks America’s past with a disturbing presence. His popular image has been painted in the darkest tones — executioner of Confederate prisoners at Front Royal, Virginia; destroyer of homes and barns in the Shenandoah Valley; Indian killer for his attack on a Cheyenne village on the Washita River; and vainglorious fool who led himself and 262 men to their deaths at the Little Bighorn. Historians, novelists and screenwriters have engraved an indelible portrait of Custer upon the nation’s conscience.

However, the popular Custer overshadows, if not belies, the historic Custer. During the Civil War, his exploits and youth earned him the nickname ‘Boy General. He earned a major generalcy when he was 25 years old, the youngest man to hold that rank in the annals of the American military. By the conflict’s end, Custer had become a household name and a Northern hero. Controversy never left him, for he was a flawed and complex man encased in a compelling personality. But the measurement of the man extends beyond Front Royal, Washita and Little Bighorn to Hunterstown, Gettysburg, Yellow Tavern, Haw’s Shop, Tom’s Brook and Appomattox Station.

Born on December 5, 1839, in New Rumley, Ohio, Custer was the oldest surviving child of Emanuel and Maria Kirkpatrick Custer. His parents had been widowed before marrying each other and had lost two infant sons before the birth of their third boy, whom they called Armstrong. As he learned to talk, he garbled his name as Autie, and to his family he would be Autie for the rest of his life. Eventually, three more sons and a daughter were born to the Custers, all of whom survived into adulthood.

From the outset, Autie was special in the family, spoiled by his parents and later worshipped by his siblings. He reveled in mischief. George was a wide awake boy, recalled a schoolmate, full of all kinds of pranks and willing to take all kinds of chances. A teacher described him as irrepressible, while another childhood friend asserted, He was rather a bad boy in school. Autie was bright, but he hated homework, preferring to read novels, biographies and military history. His efforts in school centered upon creating mayhem.

At the age of 10, Autie joined Lydia Ann Reed, his mother’s daughter from her first marriage, in Monroe, Mich. His parents sent him there for schooling, and Monroe became his adopted hometown. He lived with his sister and brother-in-law for six years before accepting a teaching position in Ohio. He failed miserably, however, in various assignments. An acquaintance at the time remembered: Custer was what he appeared. There was nothing hidden in his nature. He was kind and generous to his friends; bitter and implacable towards his enemies.

It seemed, however, that fate or circumstances conspired at timely moments to favor Custer. He had aspired to an appointment to West Point, but his father was a staunch Democrat in the congressional district of Republican John A. Bingham. Custer, meanwhile, had begun a fervid courtship of Mary Jane, or Mollie, Holland. Her father discovered a note to her from Custer that mentioned a rendezvous on a trundle bed. Determined to rid the family of Mollie’s suitor, it would appear that Holland requested of Bingham — an old friend — that Custer be given the West Point appointment. Others may also have interceded with the congressman, who ended up nominating the 17-year-old Custer.

After George Custer’s death in 1876, his wife Libbie would dedicate her life to preserving, if not embellishing, the memory of his military exploits. (U.S. Army)

Custer entered the U.S. Military Academy in June 1857, a member of the class of 1862. His cadetship remains renowned in the institution’s history. As he had as a boy, Custer tested boundaries and rules. In four years, he amassed a total of 726 demerits, one of the worst conduct records in the academy’s annals. He told a fellow cadet that there were only two places in a class, head and foot, and since he had no desire to be the head, he aspired to be the foot. A roommate noted, It was all right with him whether he knew his lesson or not: he did not allow it to trouble him.

Like their fellow Americans, the cadets divided by region over the events of the 1850s. With the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 and the secession of states, Southern cadets began leaving the academy in the winter and spring of 1861. The firing on Fort Sumter increased the number of resignations. Ironically for Custer, all his roommates except one had been Southerners.

The advent of war forced academy officials to graduate the class of 1861 in May. But with the demand for trained officers, the War Department compressed the class of 1862’s final year into six weeks. The second class of 1861 was graduated on June 24, with Custer ranking last among the 34 members. He would be the final member to be assigned to a command, his departure delayed by his court-martial for another infraction. Weeks prior to his graduation, he had written to his sister, If it is my lot to fall in the defence of my country’s rights, I will lay down my life as freely as if I had a thousand lives at my disposal. On July 18, Custer left West Point.

Second Lieutenant Custer arrived in Washington, D.C., two days later. By happenstance or good fortune, he secured one of the last, if not the last, available government horses in the capital and carried War Department dispatches to Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell at Centreville, Va. Assigned to Company G, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, Custer reached his regiment in time to participate in the First Battle of Bull Run. His regiment covered the retreat of the routed Federals. One trooper later wrote, Though famished, exhausted, spent, Custer never let up, never slackened control.

For nearly the next two years, Custer served in various staff assignments, rising to the rank of brevet captain. He gained a reputation for fearlessness, if not recklessness. He ascended in a balloon to survey Confederate works, led reconnaissance parties and was cited for gallant and spirited conduct. By the end of May 1862, Custer had joined the staff of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, serving under the Army of the Potomac commander during the Seven Days and Antietam campaigns. When McClellan was relieved of command in November, Custer accompanied the general and later assisted in the preparation of McClellan’s reports.

Custer had written a revealing letter to a cousin on October 3, 1862, after he witnessed the terrible carnage of Antietam. You ask me if I will not be glad when the last battle is fought, he stated, so far as the country is concerned I, of course, must wish for peace, and will be glad when the war is ended, but if I answer for myself alone, I must say that I shall regret to see the war end. I would be willing, yes glad, to see a battle every day during my life. Now do not misunderstand me. I speak only of my own interests and desires…but as I said before, when I think of the pain & misery produced to individuals as well as the miserable sorrow caused throughout the land I cannot but earnestly hope for peace, and at an early date.

Since youth, Custer had read stories of past warriors and had dreamed of martial glory. While he understood war’s fearful costs, he saw in it an opportunity for personal fame and advancement. His ambition was inordinate, and perhaps it impelled his fearlessness. Although he assured his family that he would not risk his life, Custer led men from the front, whether in command of a company or later of a division. Combat inflamed his soul and held incalculable opportunity for glory. Devoted to the Union cause, Custer saw the conflict as a trumpet calling.

His coveted opportunity came in June 1863, when Lincoln replaced Joseph Hooker as army commander with George G. Meade. The president granted Meade authority to replace any officers he chose. Cavalry Corps commander Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton recommended to Meade the promotion of three of his staff officers — Custer, Wesley Merritt and Elon Farnsworth — to brigadiers. On June 29 Custer received a general’s star and command of the Michigan Brigade of cavalry, comprising the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th regiments. At 23, he was the youngest general in the Union Army.

Starting with the Overland campaign in the spring of 1864, Custer (seated, far right) served under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan (far left), along with (from left) Colonel George Forsyth, Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt and Brig. Gen. Thomas Devin. (Library of Congress)

On the day of his promotion, Custer joined two of his regiments as the army marched north into Pennsylvania. To the Michiganders, he was a sight to behold. He wore a uniform of black velveteen, with gold lace that extended from his wrist to his elbow, a wide-collared blue sailor shirt with silver stars sewn on and a red necktie around his throat. He had apparently had the uniform made by a tailor at an earlier date. Custer said later that he wanted a distinctive uniform so his men could see him during combat. Superior officers and newspapermen could also see such striking attire, unlike any other in the army.

Whatever doubts the Michiganders had about their new brigadier, Custer removed them within days. At Hanover, Pa., on June 30, he directed them in dismounted fighting. Two days later, at Hunterstown, he personally led a company in an attack down a narrow road, and his horse was killed under him. Custer had been deploying skirmishers to test the Confederate position and numbers when his superior, Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, ordered the mounted charge. When Custer rode to the front of the company, he evidently wanted to demonstrate his personal bravery to the men.

The renown that he had sought for so long came a day later, on the John Rummel farm east of Gettysburg. In an engagement with Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederate horsemen, Custer led the 7th Michigan and then the 1st Michigan in mounted counterattacks. Riding in the van of each regiment, Custer shouted to the men, Come on, you Wolverines! The charges blunted Stuart’s thrusts, and the Yankees held the field.

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Tags: 19th Century, American Civil War, Civil War Times, Historical Conflicts, Historical Figures