| George Armstrong Custer | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
George Armstrong Custer |
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Born |
December 5, 1839 |
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Died |
June 25, 1876 |
Origin[]
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from West Point and, though characterized as inept for having been last in his graduating class, actually finished 34th out of a starting class of 108 candidates. 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, he was killed along with every soldier of the five companies he led. This event became known as "Custer's Last Stand".
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.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of George Armstrong Custer from before January 1, 1929 are in the public domain.
Some notable appearances include:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- My Life on the Plains (1874)
- A complete life of Gen. George A. Custer : Major-General of Volunteers; Brevet Major-General, U.S. Army; and Lieutenant-Colonel, Seventh U.S. Cavalry (1876)
- Eleven years in the Rocky Mountains and life on the frontier also a history of the Sioux war, and a life Gen. George A. Custer, with a full account of his last battle (1877)
- From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America (1908)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Custer's Last Fight (1912)
- Colonel Custard's Last Stand (1914)
- Britton of the Seventh (1916)
- Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
- Wide Open Spaces (1924)
- The Flaming Frontier (1926)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Custer's Last Fight
- Wild Bill Hickok #1, 11
- Rex Allen #5
- Cheyenne Kid #10, 39
- Tex Granger #19
- The Westerner #19
- Kid Cowboy #1
- Four Color #449
- Sheriff of Tombstone #14
- Buster Crabbe #4
- Six Gun Heroes #82
- Maverick Marshall #1