His legend was partly his own fabrication through his extensive publicity, and perhaps more through the energetic lobbying of his wife Elizabeth Bacon 'Libbie' Custer throughout her long widowhood.

His dramatic end was as controversial as the rest of his career, and the reaction to his life and career remains deeply divided. This event became known as ' Custer's Last Stand'.

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, he was killed along with every soldier of the five companies he led. After the war, Custer was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army and was sent west to fight in the Indian Wars, mainly against the Lakota and other Plains Peoples. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

His division blocked the Army of Northern Virginia's final retreat and received the first flag of truce from the Confederates. In 1864, he served in the Overland Campaign and Philip Sheridan's army in the Shenandoah Valley, defeating Jubal Early at Cedar Creek. Stuart's attack at what is now known as East Cavalry Field. Despite being outnumbered, Custer defeated J. Only a few days after his promotion, he fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he commanded the Michigan Cavalry Brigade. He was subsequently promoted to brigadier general of volunteers at age 23. McClellan and the future General Alfred Pleasonton, both of whom recognized his ability as a cavalry leader. Ĭuster graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, but since the Civil War was just starting, trained officers were in immediate demand.

George Armstrong Custer (Decem– June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.

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