George Armstrong Custer's Last Stand At The Battle Of Little Big Horn

Here we are in the midst of the civil war as the country is divided and tensions are high. Then, like a phoenix out of the ashes comes a military name that will be remembered for generations to come – George Armstrong Custer. This is the man who, while young, made it a point to have no fear on the battlefront and led his men with a firm hand. He gave his men the inspiration and zeal to fight and be victorious even in the worst of situations. As we examine the life of George Custer, his thirty-seven short years on this earth, and his last stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn we will see how his bravery and selflessness earned him the title of one of the greatest generals the Union ever knew.
Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio on December 5, 1839. As he grew older into a young man he enrolled at the United States Military Academy on July 1, 1857. After graduating from the academy Custer was quickly given the position of brigadier general at age 23 just about a week before the Battle of Gettysburg broke out. On his own he guided his cavalry against

the confederates and was successful in defending the Union. Another great time in Custer’s career was when he witnessed General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to General Ulysses Grant

General George Custer is most notably famous for his battle of Little Bighorn that took place in 1876 and is commonly referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”. The battle took place between the seventh U.S. Cavalry and the Cheyenne and Sioux. The intention of this battle was to force the Indians back to their reservations. The Indians had already been being pushed further and further from their homes and had no plans of leaving their homes. These tribes lived off of the land in this area. The buffalo or tatonka as they called them lived all throughout these vast prairies. Indians were very resourceful with the animals they killed because the used every part of them. The white men just killed the buffalo for their hides so this is another subtle, yet key factor in why the battle took place.
So to get a look at the events leading up to this horrific battle, we see that there was increased westward expansion which led to conflicts between the Indians and travelers using the trails through that countryside. Because there were constant conflicts, the government set up military outposts in Montana and Wyoming to provide protection for miners, pioneers, and the railroad. In the early 1870's there were military excursions that led to the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. (If you have ever been to the Black Hills, you know how much of a mining area it really was and still would be if the caves were not flooded with water.) Times were hard as the tensions built between settlers and Indians.
A mother told her young and scared son, “your dad went to save the land” as they both watched him walk with the army heading west.

The man knew this could be the last time he ever saw his wife and son again, so he asked his wife if she would wait for him to return. This was the mindset of so many citizens across the lands knowing this battle could be the last one some of these men ever fought. Soldiers, some having no idea what kind of enemy they were facing, picturing in their head any possible outcome. Some imagined they were going to be the one to single-handedly taking the Indian army by themselves. Feeling like a modern-day superhero rushing to the battlefield, these young men had hope, which sometimes is all you need. Hope is what starts all revolutions, battles, and explorations, hope is something you need. This time, however, the soldiers needed much more than hope if they were going to get through this

battle.
Shaking, scared, and afraid - this describes the U.S. soldiers during this battle. Hope wasn’t enough they had learned. Sitting Bull was strong, brave and very knowledgeable about how to use their power and might against the cavalry. Something that Custer didn’t know was the number of Indians that were at the camp. While there are many different theories on if the battle could have been won or fewer casualties, this is the outcome that happened. The Indians felt as if we wanted war. Custer could have waited for additional help and actually won the battle against the Indians. Many felt that because of Custer’s proud mindset he was the reason for the needless deaths of the seventh cavalry. This was the greatest victory for the Indians in the entire war against them.
There were once golden grains in the place of that battle, but now it was all consumed by the horrible sight of fathers, husbands, and sons lying there motionless. They all had the feeling now of an eternal dread that could not be quenched, however. Soldiers were wishing they had talked sweetly to their wives before they had left. No one knows their stories yet and probably never will. No one knows why it had to happen this way. Those who had remained were walking proud and lonely now, still yearning for their lost brothers-in-arms. Before they rushed, something bothered the Custer, a feeling of it just being a dream, knowing there were lions in the den that would show no mercy when it came to protecting their precious land. General Custer seemed to be searching the world for the silver lining in this dreary situation. The soldiers knew the truth, they knew the road that needed to be taken was in fact a dead end. They fought anyway, for they knew they were fighting for the greater good. They upheld their valor and died martyrs to the cause.
General Custer was a man who would not accept defeat. He would look death right in the eye just to maintain his bravery. People across the Union looked up to him with admiration for his zeal and determination to protect the land that means so much to us all. While his arrogance is likely the reason for his and the entire seventh cavalry’s death they all went down in history as brave warriors and they will not be forgotten. General George Armstrong Custer, the mightiest general of the Union stood his last stand and fought to his death for our country we so proudly live in today.