Squarebutt
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It was on this day in 1876 that G. A. Custer and his troops wished he hadn't left his Gatling guns behind to save weight.
Battle of the Little Bighorn - Wikipedia
Battle of the Little Bighorn - Wikipedia
On this day: Battle of Little Big Horn
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I have a friend that is a military buff and has studied Custer and his errors which have been misinterpreted for bravery. The Sioux made short work of Custer and then to add insult to injury used their modern breech loading rifles to bring fire on Custer's back-up when they arrived. Historians were curious why there were an abundance of 50 caliber bullets on the ridges where Benteen and Reno showed up, they were receiving hostile fire from distances they were not accustomed to.
My grandfather was exactly one year old when Custer died. But he was in Pennsylvania on a farm at the time. So he did not participate. This is true.
Every time someone tells me that they have a plan, I tell them so did Custer
dasnake
Member
For me.......
We've been there 10 times from '70 to '08, learn something everytime, and one thing I've picked up everytime is an overabundance of ego, and a total underestimation of the indian forces, big win for the indians but the beginning of the end, sad stories, sad endings, I always wonder about my history, it was my GG grandmothers on both maternal and paternal sides who were full blood and came up from Montana and there is always a seed of thought if they were involved with the tribes of these days.
We've been there 10 times from '70 to '08, learn something everytime, and one thing I've picked up everytime is an overabundance of ego, and a total underestimation of the indian forces, big win for the indians but the beginning of the end, sad stories, sad endings, I always wonder about my history, it was my GG grandmothers on both maternal and paternal sides who were full blood and came up from Montana and there is always a seed of thought if they were involved with the tribes of these days.
Some say Custer had political ambitions and wanted to make a big splash in the eastern papers in time for the Centennial.
He got his ink, I suppose, just not like he imagined.
He got his ink, I suppose, just not like he imagined.
dasnake
Member
I read ..........
Along those lines, and afterwards when the press started to castigate him libby became a professional widow never to remarry and forever enhancing custers history.
Along those lines, and afterwards when the press started to castigate him libby became a professional widow never to remarry and forever enhancing custers history.
Skeptic 9c
Member
The US Army Command and Staff College (aka Famous Generals School) teaches an officer to say, "Colonel Custer achieved the intended results, however he misjudged his force ratio." without giggling.
Geoff
Who was a Sergeant in his youth.
Geoff
Who was a Sergeant in his youth.
OLDSTER
Member
Fort Lincoln ( beautifully restored ) is right across the Missouri River from where I live. If you're ever in this area, I highly recommend a tour of the fort and surrounding Mandan Indian villages. Custers' house is also restored with the authentic furnishings etc. 
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
—Mike Tyson
I just finished Son of the Morning Star which is both an excellent book and movie. It is free on YouTube.
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BLACKHAWKNJ
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He fought a very poor battle, divided his forces, not in supporting distance, poor reconnaissance, underestimated his enemies. He made every mistake in the book.
I wonder how many poor soldiers under his command said "what the heck is wrong with this guy?" but they had to go along with it.
Many of us have had to work under bosses who knew less than we did.
Many of us have had to work under bosses who knew less than we did.
Doug M.
Member
No plan survives first contact.
Inusuit
Member
I'm no fan of Custer. I believe that some of his decisions at Little Big Horn were based on previous experience, his and others, that Natives avoided set piece battles. They preferred guerilla tactics and would scatter to avoid confrontation. He hoped to prevent that and it worked much better than he expected.
BITD there was a diner named "Mustards Last Stand".
In the village of Indian Orchard.
True story
In the village of Indian Orchard.
True story
Battle at the Greasy Grass. The good guys won the battle, but lost the war.
A good book, for those interested, is "The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn" by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Three of the best books I have ever read on the subject were "The Custer Reader" (Edited by Paul A. Hutton), "A Terrible Glory" (James Donovan) and "Custer & Crazyhorse"(Stephen Ambrose).
In "The Custer Reader" the author examines the writings of Custer's contemporaries as well as how the popular view of Custer has changed over the years and examines the theory that Benteen deliberately abandoned Custer to his fate and includes the immediate account of the battle and the account given at the court of inquiry and points out how the number of Indians grew between the two tellings and speculates that it's possible Benteen was trying to cover up his deliberate abandonment of Custer.
TCR also examines the idea that Custer was trying for one big victory to set up a Presidential run. The author contends that Custer was quite content to be a soldier but found himself stuck in a peace time Army with very little chance for advancement (Example Charles Varnum was a Second Lieutenant at the Battle of Little Bighorn and had only been promoted to Captain by Wounded Knee.) . The Book Speculates that it's far more likely that Custer was trying to distinguish himself in an effort to gain promotion to Brigadier General.
"A Terrible Glory" points out that prior to LBH the Indians had never stood and fought and that they had routinely been beaten by numerically inferior U.S. forces with superior firepower. It also points out that Custer did not disobey orders but that his orders were very general and left him plenty of room to react to the changing situation.
Donavan also points out that while Custer's battalion commanders might have been good fighters , they were crappy officers who were trying to advance their careers in the same slow moving peace time Army. It also draws the conclusion that the survivors placed all the blame on Custer who wasn't around to defend himself in an effort to save their careers.
"Custer and Crazyhorse" examines all of Custer's life. Not just a brief look at his military career and The Little Bighorn. It fills lot of the blank spaces in other biographies that only look at his military career.
What I find really interesting is according to Ambrose Custer was repeatedly offered chances to go into politics and he turned them all down. This really makes me question the popular theory that he was trying to win the Battle of the Little Bighorn so set himself up for a presidential run.
He apparently was also offered several civilian jobs that would have paid much better than the army and turned them all down too. I find that especially surprising given that Custer was NOT a wealthy man.
I think anyone with a serious interest in LBH would benefit from reading either or all of these books.
In "The Custer Reader" the author examines the writings of Custer's contemporaries as well as how the popular view of Custer has changed over the years and examines the theory that Benteen deliberately abandoned Custer to his fate and includes the immediate account of the battle and the account given at the court of inquiry and points out how the number of Indians grew between the two tellings and speculates that it's possible Benteen was trying to cover up his deliberate abandonment of Custer.
TCR also examines the idea that Custer was trying for one big victory to set up a Presidential run. The author contends that Custer was quite content to be a soldier but found himself stuck in a peace time Army with very little chance for advancement (Example Charles Varnum was a Second Lieutenant at the Battle of Little Bighorn and had only been promoted to Captain by Wounded Knee.) . The Book Speculates that it's far more likely that Custer was trying to distinguish himself in an effort to gain promotion to Brigadier General.
"A Terrible Glory" points out that prior to LBH the Indians had never stood and fought and that they had routinely been beaten by numerically inferior U.S. forces with superior firepower. It also points out that Custer did not disobey orders but that his orders were very general and left him plenty of room to react to the changing situation.
Donavan also points out that while Custer's battalion commanders might have been good fighters , they were crappy officers who were trying to advance their careers in the same slow moving peace time Army. It also draws the conclusion that the survivors placed all the blame on Custer who wasn't around to defend himself in an effort to save their careers.
"Custer and Crazyhorse" examines all of Custer's life. Not just a brief look at his military career and The Little Bighorn. It fills lot of the blank spaces in other biographies that only look at his military career.
What I find really interesting is according to Ambrose Custer was repeatedly offered chances to go into politics and he turned them all down. This really makes me question the popular theory that he was trying to win the Battle of the Little Bighorn so set himself up for a presidential run.
He apparently was also offered several civilian jobs that would have paid much better than the army and turned them all down too. I find that especially surprising given that Custer was NOT a wealthy man.
I think anyone with a serious interest in LBH would benefit from reading either or all of these books.
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