Why Is Custer Demonized So Much In Modern Culture

James Westberg
English IV
9-15-14
George Armstrong Custer is definitely a man with a controversial and lasting legacy. While many denounce him as a vain, egotistical, and often simply an idiot of a man, others will claim his personality was simply too big for his own good. When did all this slandering of his character start? Why are these accusations becoming more and more prevalent in todays culture? The real question is this. Why is Custer demonized so much in modern culture. Custer was always a man who had his critics. President Grant even stated that the loss of life at Little Bighorn was almost entirely Custer’s fault. Many southerners and republicans were also critics of him for more than one reason. From being a RINO ( Republican In Name Only) from simply being a Union officer after the Civil War. The matter of fact was that he was a martyr for the American people. He was seen as the grand hero of the west. While he was

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. I’ve been trained in the military, and the military pays my bills. I’m out to do a job; maybe I don't approve, but as a military man when i’m told to march, I march.” [1]While some would not be satisfied with this answer, (understandable) it just shows that no answers in war are answered with such ease. Many may ask where all these accusations came from, the simple answer is the American Indian