American Hero or Fool?
I just read a recently published book entitled "A Terrible Glory" by James Donovan. The author reviews in detail the life of General Custer, from childhood to this death at age 37. Being a Civil War buff since the mid 1980's, I knew a fair amount about the battles that he fought as a union cavalry officer when he was in his early 20's. From those accounts, I was left with the impression that he was a flamboyant, but brave soldier. However, that has changed somewhat with further research. He remained flamboyant & brave, but egotisical and foolish (in my opinion) also needs to be added to define his character.
As his career shifted to fighting the Sioux, Cheyenne and many other Indian tribes, Custer became bolder than ever and it appears he was ultimately convinced that any portion of his now infamous 7th Cavalry could defeat any number of American Indians. On the day of his death, he split his approximately 500 troopers into 3 different “wings” and sent them into 3 different directions. Both of the other 2 commanders (Major Reno & Captain Benteen) were known to disdain Custer and at the end of the day neither came to Custer’s aid. Reno was drunk on the job & Benteen, although leading his men with courage, acted too slowly to be of assistance. In their defense however, they were possibly in danger of being massacred themselves. In the end, Custer and his approximately 260 troopers were on their own, attacking what has now been estimated to be anywhere between 2,000 and 4,000 Sioux and Cheyenne "hostiles". Custer apparently genuinely believed that when he attached they would flee as they had on other occasions in the past. Unfortunately, his courage and that of his men was not enough to overcome the odds. For anyone interested, the site below has several YouTube video links giving one perspective of this famous American General.
http://www.garryowen.com/ (click on "Battle Study")
