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Civil War Soldiers - Custer
| Custer, George A., major-general, U.S.
Army, was born in New Rumley, Harrison county, Ohio, Dec. 5, 1839, and
was graduated at West Point in 1861. Being assigned to duty as 2nd
lieutenant in the 1st U. S. cavalry, he arrived at the front on the
day of the first battle of Bull Run and joined his regiment on the
field. In the fall of 1861 he was ordered home on sick leave, and on
his return, in Feb., 1862, he rejoined the army, being assigned to the
5th U. S. cavalry. He served successively as aide on the staffs of
Gens. Phil Kearny, W. F. Smith and George B. McClellan, was promoted
to be a captain of volunteers and served throughout the Peninsular
campaign of 1862. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers
in June, 1863, and placed at the head of a brigade of Michigan
cavalry, which, under his leadership, became one of the best trained
and most efficient bodies in the Federal army. He led his brigade at
the battle of Gettysburg, and distinguished himself by gallantry which
won for him the brevet rank of major in the regular army. Subsequently
his brigade was attached to Sheridan's cavalry corps, with which he
served in the campaigns in Virginia, in the spring and summer of 1864,
and in the subsequent operations in the Shenandoah valley,
distinguishing himself by his bravery on numerous occasions. He was
then given command of the 3d division of Sheridan's corps, won the
battle of Woodstock, and at Cedar creek his division recaptured,
before the day was over, guns and colors that had been taken from the
army earlier in the fight, together with Confederate flags and cannon.
After this brilliant success, Gen. Custer was sent to Washington in
charge of the captured colors, and was recommended for promotion. He
was given the brevet of major-general of volunteers, Oct. 19, 1864,
defeated Gen. Early at Waynesboro, and took part in the battles of
Five Forks, Dinwiddle Court House, and other engagements of Grant's
last campaign. He received the first flag of truce from the Army of
Northern Virginia, and was present at Appomattox Court House when Lee
surrendered his army. He was appointed major-general of volunteers to
date from April 15, 1865, having been brevetted major-general, U. S.
A., March 13, 1865, and, after the grand review at Washington,
commanded the cavalry in Texas in the winter of 1865 and 1866, and
then applied for leave of absence to become commander of the cavalry
which Juarez was organizing to drive the Emperor Maximilian out of
Mexico. His request being denied, he accepted the position of
lieutenant-colonel of the 7th cavalry and gained his first experience
in Indian fighting in 1867-68, with Gen. Hancock's campaign against
the Cheyennes, bringing the campaign to a successful conclusion by a
decisive defeat which he inflicted on the Indians at Washita, I. T.,
in Nov., 1868. He first met the hostile Sioux in 1873, when his
regiment was ordered to Dakota to guard the Northern Pacific railroad
construction, and in 1874 he commanded an expedition to the Black
Hills which opened up a hitherto undiscovered region of mineral
wealth. Gen. Custer lost his life, June 25, 1876, at the fatal
massacre on the Little Big Horn. Reaching the Indian encampment in a
region which was little known, he did not wait for the rest of the
army, under command of Gen. Terry, and, underestimating the strength
of the Indians, divided his force of 277 troopers into three
divisions, with which he made the attack. The Indians, outnumbering
their opponents ten to one, killed every one of the noble band. Source: The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal
States 1861-1865, Volume 8 Biographical, 1908
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