General George Custer example essay topic

General George A. Custer Few nineteenth century military leaders gained as much fame and publicity as General George Armstrong Custer of the seventh cavalry. From West Point, to the battlefields of the Civil War, and then on to the Great Plains to fight the Lakota Indians, he had his hand in many of the most important and influential battles of the late 1800's. Although, it was his tragic demise at the Battle of Little Bighorn that put him into history books everywhere. George A. Custer was born in New Rumsey, Ohio on December 5, 1839. He spent much of his childhood in Monroe, Michigan. This is also where he went to high school and was looked after by his stepsister.

Custer always knew that wanted to be in the military, but not just as a plain and simple private. He wanted to be in command and for the ambitious "do it my way" attitude that Custer possessed, an officer's title is probably the only way he would last in the military. After high school, Custer wasted no time in getting into the prestigious West Point Military Academy, where he would soon be an officer and on his way into history. Custer West Point experiences were not that exceptional.

He failed to distinguish himself in any positive way and graduated last in his class in 1861. Several days after graduation, he failed in his duty as officer of the guard to stop a fight between two cadets, and was sent to face a military court martial. No punishment was ever enforced because of the dire need for officers in the now deadly Civil War. With all the negative instances surrounding Custer it seemed as if his military career would be short and full of controversy. Ironically, the Civil War not only saved Custer from military persecution but it gave him the chance to prove himself on the battlefield. At the start of the Civil War Custer served in the staff of General George B. McClellan, and experienced his first taste of real combat in the Battle of Bull Run.

In many instances during the war he showed fearless aggression in battle and quickly gained the praise of many of his fellow officers and men. His relentless pursuit of General Lee helped to hasten Lee's surrender at Appomattox, VA on April 9, 1865. By the time the war ended, the military had appointed him lieutenant colonel of the seventh cavalry. In 1877, while leading a campaign against the Cheyenne Indians, Custer was yet again charged and brought to court marital. Although, this time he was found guilty of being absent from duty during the campaign. As a result of this round of wrongdoing, Custer was suspended from duty for a year without pay.

He then returned home to see his wife for most of the length of the suspension. After the year of suspension General Phil Sheridan called Custer back to duty to help the army fight the continuing threat of the Plains Indians. George Custer's name was redeemed in his November 1868 attack on Black Kettles band of Indians on the banks of the Was hita. This incident is easily referred to as a slaughter, which is basically what happened to the Native Americans that day. In 1873 Custer was sent to the Northern Plains to help put down small skirmishes of Lakotas in the Yellowstone Area.

This led to brief and small conflicts between the United States Military and the Lakotas. The following year, he led an expedition of about twelve hundred men to the Black Hills to investigate the rumors of gold deposits being found. But the problem with the expedition was that the U.S. government gave the Black Hills area to the Lakota Indians just six years before. This campaign help set up the next big assault on the Lakota Indians that would undeniably be one of the biggest military defeats of all time.

The last time that General George Custer would command troops into action was at the Battle of Little Bighorn. This attack was predicted to be very successful due to the fact that the men of General Custer and General Alfred Terry were supposed to attack from different direction at the same time. However, General Custer arrived near Little Bighorn on the night of June 24, 1876, he had progressed faster than he was ordered and was a full two days ahead of General Alfred Terry. Custer had greatly underestimated what he thought was a village of Sioux Indians, which turned out to be a massive number of warriors fighting under Chief Sitting Bull and Chief Crazy Horse.

He split his forces into three companies and on June 25, 1876 led a full frontal attack on the Sioux camp. To Custer's surprise, five thousand vengeful Indians counterattacked and started to push his forces back. The seventh cavalry was greatly overwhelmed by the massive force of the attack. The ambitious general and all two hundred and sixty four of his men were killed. A horse named Commanche that belonged to Captain Keogh was the only survivor of the massacre. Commanche was found in a bush with seven arrows in his side.

The Captains horse became a symbol of that battle and was in many parades in the following years. The Battle of Little Bighorn was more a result of Custer being hot headed rather than bad military planning. If he had waited two more days for General Terry, the outcome of the battle might be totally different. Still to this day, the Battle of Little Bighorn is often referred to as Custer's last stand. General George Custer's mistakes may have cost him his life but they granted him everlasting fame. Although the U.S. was not in fear of losing the war with the Plains Indians, the massacre of Custer and his men of the seventh cavalry stirred the morale of the troops and the American people to new heights.

The overwhelming defeat of the U.S. Military in the Battle of Little Bighorn transformed Custer from a regular nineteenth century military figure into the subject of countless songs, books, and paintings.