The Life of George Custer

               George Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, on December 5th, 1839. He graduated from McNeely Normal School where he became a teacher for a few years before enrolling at the US Military Academy. In 1861, he finished his classes at the Military Academy and entered the army as a second lieutenant during the Civil War. As a young lieutenant, Custer was able to see many battles firsthand such as the First Battle of Bull Run and the battle of Gettysburg. By associating with famous generals such as General McClellan, Custer was able to move up in his ranks and become a major general before 25.

                After his intervention in the Civil war, Custer was made the captain of the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. In 1871, Custer and his men were ordered to scout out the black hills in order to find out if there was gold among these Indian lands. This territory, found in South Dakota, contained the region (black hills) that had been discussed in a previous treaty in which the white people recognized that these lands were native to the Indians and were sacred grounds for their hunting. However, the US government stated that the Cheyenne people and other tribes needed to migrate to reservations due to the rumors of gold, which led to conflict between the Indians and the Americans; as a result, this led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

              Under the Indian leader, Sitting Bull, Indians gathered along the river of Little Bighorn. As Sitting Bull inspired Indians to leave the reservations and resist the US government through his religious speeches, he was gaining more followers. In order to tend to these Indians, the government ordered Cluster and two other army columns to set out to Little Bighorn valley. However, on the morning of June 25, Custer and his men were spotted by Indian warriors - because Custer feared that the Indians would spread the word to the village, Custer decided to attack immediately. He decided to split his groups into 3 sections, one to charge the village, one to intercept runaway Indians in the south, and one to strike the village from the north. Because these groups were too far out from each other in order to provide support, Custer's plan ended up being a disaster. As a result, Custer and his men were killed in a span of 2 hours due to the significant superior amount of Indian warriors and unorganized planning.

              While his sloppy military plan proved disastrous, Custer was considered a hero of the country. The image of Custer and "Custers Last Stand" appeared in many films and three books written by his wife, Elizabeth Custer, where Custer was shown as the brave captain who led his army into an honorable battle.

 
Written by Ragan Krames, P4
Sources - https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Armstrong-Custer/Battle-of-the-Little-Bighorn