ipl-logo

What Is George A Custer Civil War Career

1290 Words6 Pages

General George A. Custer: Civil War Career
“I would be willing, yes glad, to see battle everyday.” This is one of George A. Custer’s famous quotes. Many would classify George A. Custer as one of the most foolish generals the United States military has ever held in its ranks, but what most people do not know is George Custer had a very significant and successful military career during the Civil War. George Custer had ambitions of being in the military at a very young age and had his sights set on West Point Military Academy. After his education, Custer would be thrown into the world of battle and he could not have been any happier
Coming from humble beginnings, George Armstrong Custer didn’t have much as a child. He was born in New Rumley, Ohio …show more content…

To get into West Point, one needs to be above average in academics and athletics, be in good mental and physical health, and each student must have a recommendation from a member of congress. (“FAQ Admission”). The only category Custer was lacking in was his academics. It wasn’t that Custer wasn’t smart, he just lacked the motivation needed to succeed in this particular category (“Custer’s Academy Years”). Custer also struggled with the congressional recommendation but eventually convinced a local congressman to sign off (“Bio”). However, Custer wasn’t in yet. The last thing Custer needed to get into West Point was his father’s signature (“Military Service Record”). So with his congressional recommendation and father’s signature, Custer was ready for West Point. Custer’s class was one of 67 cadets, but only 34 would graduate. Right from the beginning, Custer’s superiors knew he would be one of mischief. Custer was a bit of a troublemaker, however; he was very popular among his peers. West Point has a system of “dermits”. Academy supervisors would give these dermits to cadets if the cadet were to act out or break the rules of the academy. If a cadet were to earn 100 dermits in a semester, that cadet would be expelled from the academy. Multiple times, Custer would earn 90-95 dermits in a semester. Custer acted out in ways …show more content…

By this time, Custer had been promoted to Major General and was placed in command of the 2nd New York Cavalry. Custer had caught wind of the arrival of four rail cars that had arrived at Appomattox Station for General Lee and his men. So, Custer sent his division to Appomattox Station and remove the rail cars before Lee and his men could get there. Custer arrived at the station before Lee and was able to remove the cars, but he didn’t go unnoticed. General Rueben Walker, who headed Lee’s artillery division, began firing cannons upon Custer and his men. Custer ordered his troops to charge but this wasn’t easy as the setting for this battle was very unforgiving. Primarily woods and shrubs, the Union army couldn’t mobilize that well and lost organization, however; Custer’s troops were far more prepared for battle than those of General Walker, who had not been preparing supper instead of war at the time. Custer and his troops were successful in attacking and capturing the artillery of General Walker and this helped the Union gain ground on the battlefield. With this foothold, the Union now blocked off Lee’s path of retreat. General Lee now had only two options: fight or surrender. General Lee chose to fight and his attempts were thwarted and he was then forced to surrender his army. Without the acts of General Custer, the Union victory at the Appomattox would not have been possible (“Battles of

Show More
Related
569 Words | 3 Pages

Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer executed poor mission command during the Battle of Little Bighorn by failing to create a shared understanding of the operational environment and exercise disciplined initiative. Custer was the commander of a battalion in the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Indian Wars1. Little Bighorn was the location of a nomadic village of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes2. Custer approached the unified Indian village with his force of nearly 650 men from the east and south to act as a hammer. Following Custer’s advance, additional infantry and cavalry approached from the north to act as a blocking force or anvil in support of Custer's movements2.

Read More
1814 Words | 8 Pages

This village was likely between 6,000-7,000 Native Americans, with up to 2,000 warriors amongst them (Stewart, 2009). When Terry received reports of signs of this large village (albeit with no indication to the size of the force), he gave the order for Custer to pursue the village from the south while Gibbons maneuvered north, in order to interdict the fleeing Native Americans (Neumann, 2001). As a brief synopsis, the execution of the mission command philosophy is guided by the implementation of the six mission command principles: building cohesive teams through mutual trust, creating shared understanding, providing a clear commander’s intent, exercising disciplined initiative, using mission orders, and accepting prudent risk (Department of the Army, 2012). In the example of Custer’s infamous last stand, we will analyze his implementation of the principles of building cohesive teams through mutual trust, creating shared understanding, providing a clear commander’s intent, and accepting prudent

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

This would all change after the Civil War, Custer would slowly begin to lose all the great aspects that he had during the Civil War. He began to be more hard headed and selfish over the course of his military career. One story is that he led his men on a march across the plains to see his wife. He would get court martialed for this action because on this march he abandoned three of his men who were injured. “Even today, most Americans are

Read More
1268 Words | 6 Pages

Col. Custer developed was essentially a flank attack, whichever battalion made contact first would essentially fix the camp while the other 2 manuever battalions would maneuver and attack from their position. Lt. Col. Custer took his battalion to the northwest using the terrain to move and then turn south towards the river, Major Reno took his battalion to the southwest and Captain Benteen moved his battalion to the south turning northwest in an attempt to locate the village. The attack started at dawn on the 26th of July 1876. Major Reno’s battalion was the first to contact the village.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

Custer’s cavalry unit was instrumental in the victory at Appomattox and in appreciation General Phillip Sheridan bought the desk where the surrender of Robert E. Lee was signed and gave it to Custer. General Sheridan, prior to giving Custer the desk, wrote a letter to Custer’s wife complimenting her husband for his role in the victory. " Permit me to say, Madam," he wrote, "that there is scarcely an individual in our service who has contributed more to bring about this desirable result than your gallant

Read More
1181 Words | 5 Pages

What led to this battle, was General Robert. E. Lee, was leading his army to Pennsylvania, to try to gain a food advantage over the North. Unbeknownst to both sides, this would be the first battle in the North. Lee had hoped that with a northern victory, external countries would view the south as an organized country, and not a group of “rag tag bandits”, as some northerner’s called the south. He also hoped that a northern victory would finally make the Union allow the South to become its own country.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

On June 22nd, 1876, LTC Custer received orders from Brigadier General (BG) Alfred H. Terry to pursue roaming Native Americans in the eastern Montana Territory (Wagner III,

Read More
216 Words | 1 Pages

Davy Crockett was a historical hero who had the strength to push onwards, the determination to keep on fighting and the bravery to stand their ground Davy Crockett had the determination to keep on fighting by the fact that he stood his ground on one of the walls in Battle of the Alamo and that he “Whupped the tar” out of the class bully and in the Battle of the Alamo, Davy Crockett and his comrades at arms didn 't complain or humiliating themselves when facing their torturers. Davy Crockett had the strength to fight to the end because he kept fighting until he was surrounded but he kept fighting until he couldn 't keep up with the crowd piling on top of his army. Davy Crockett had the bravery to fear nothing because he died fearing

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

Accusations have ranged from he was a drunk, to he had an illegitimate child who was a product of rape ( later disproven by a genealogy test). Many of these accusations hold little weight in the scale that is historical accuracy. Possibly the man who almosts knows as much about Custer than Custer himself is Steven Alexander. He has been a lifelong historian on Custer and reenactor for the better part of 20 years. When asked about how Custer himself would respond to the question of fighting the Indians he snaps into first person and says “I’m a soldier.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

The union had won the war. Lee hated to surrender, but he knew that was the only thing left to do. “ ‘I suppose there is nothing for me to do but go and see General Grant,’ he told an aide. ‘And I would rather die a thousand deaths.’ ” (Robert E. Lee www.biography.com).

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

Before this Lee was making all the Union Generals look terrible and then the Union finally got a win. This changed the whole war because then the Union started winning more battles and they would add up and eventually lead to them winning the war. There was no chance of the Union winning the war until this

Read More
670 Words | 3 Pages

The Battle of Gettysburg was a three day fight in which an estimate of 51,000 soldiers were killed in total, but besides all of the casualties, what else makes this battle special? The Battle of Gettysburg was a huge factor in the abolishment of slavery. It is one of the most important battles because it created new war strategies and was the turning point in the Civil War, which led to the Gettysburg Address. The Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, was very confident because of his army utmost victory.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

The second difference that is clearly evident is the U.S. Calvary underestimated the multiple tribe’s courage to stay and fight. Major Reno’s battalion advanced first heading down the Little Bighorn and came across a natural a ford to cross the river. On this account, the Sioux could not see past the creek, and they believed the soldiers were out of cartridges. The major difference in these two accounts in the Battle of Little Bighorn is that the Sioux Nation did not believe they had committed any crimes by leaving the

Read More
345 Words | 2 Pages

They attempted to steal his horse and later one of the Sioux acts in a very aggressive manner towards the Lieutenant. But over time, he overcomes his fears and tries to establish a relationship with them. They begin to accept and trust him after he made some offerings, and later helped them find buffalo to feed their families. Lt. Dunbar was

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

While Cluster was walking along the little bighorn river the Terry/Gibbon column was marching toward the mouth of the little bighorn. Custer planned a surprise attack but he get spotted before he was able to do it. So he decided to attack without anymore waiting. His scouts warned him that the village is very big but he didn 't hear on them. And so he ran into his crushing defeat.

Read More

More about What Is George A Custer Civil War Career

Related Topics

Open Document