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George Armstrong Custer
On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th
Cavalry rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000
Indians stood waiting for battle...
The lives of two
great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the
Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression
and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early
ages; both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of
their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains
of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would
pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations
fighting for possession of the open prairie. -- Library Journal
Walter M. Camp (1867-1925) was an indefatigable
collector of Custeriana who set himself the intimidating task of interviewing every living
survivor of the battle at the Little Bighorn. Unfortunately, with Camp's death this
information was scattered. This volume gathers his most important material,
much of which was not previously available. Custer and Company presents
information on Sergeant John Henley, veteran trooper of the Seventh Cavalry, and a number
of other Seventh Cavalrymen and frontiersmen, including interpreter Sam
Bruguier; Camp's
research on various unsettled questions of the Little Bighorn fight; interviews with
several surviving Indians and famed scout Luther North; and extensive information on the
death of Crazy Horse.
Cavalier
in Buckskin:
George Armstrong Custer and the Western Military Frontier
by Robert Utley
Paperback (1991)
Robert Utley is a respected and skilled historian of the
West. This work is skillfully woven to give general insights into the
personality and character of Custer. The text is extremely readable and
structured to be understood by all. The prose is not stilted to the academic
and the anecdotes described will maintain the interest of those not particularly
interested in the sociopolitical background of events. Custer is painted
neither as saint nor sinner and receives balanced treatment. This is a
worthwhile read for those interested in the time frame and the participation of Custer in
American Western History.
Custer's
Last Campaign:
Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed
by John Shapley Gray, Robert M. Utley
Paperback (1993)
After reading this book, most of the mystery is
gone. This has to be one of the best books written on the subject of the
"Battle of the Little Big Horn." Using time motion analysis of
Custers journey up the Rosebud to the final "last stand" resolves many of the
mysteries of Custers' Last Stand. Some of the speculations may be refutable
but I haven't seen a better analysis. This book left me with a favorable
impression of Custer as a leader and a general. He may have been seeking glory
at the beginning of the campaign but he wasn't an idiot when it came to the actual
fighting and generalship.
I
Fought With Custer:
The Story of Sergeant Windolph, Last Survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn
by Charles Windolph, Robert Hunt
Paperback (1987)
This book is compiled from the found writings of a
sergeant of the Seventh Cavalry who survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
The first hand accounts of men like Sergeant Windolph and Theodore Goldin are
very valuable and interesting reading. They were not men defending their
performance as were the officers like Benteen, Reno, and Godfrey. They had
their biases but didn't have to grind axes. This account is worthwhile reading
for students of the Seventh Cavalry and the Little Big Horn campaign.
Only six Cheyenne Indians (but 32 Sioux) died in the
fighting that wiped out the command of General George Custer. Brave Wolf was
at the scene on that bloody Sunday in 1876. Brave Wolf and others of his tribe
recall the courage of the doomed men in the Seventh Cavalry and give a firsthand account
of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Published six months after Custer's death, Frederick
Whittaker's "A Complete Life of General George A. Custer" traces the American
icon's life from his boyhood in Ohio through his cadet years at West
Point, his Civil War exploits, his impressive
rise to the rank of Major General of cavalry in the Army of the Potomac and his transition
to the peacetime army. My reading of this book was enriched by the fact that, as a
Custer contemporary, Whittaker was not only in touch with the the 19th century ambience,
but that he had the added advantages of active service as a trooper in the 6th New York
Cavalry and access to Custer's papers, Civil War memoirs and personal anecdotes through
his collaboration with Custer's widow, Elizabeth.
The
Custer Myth: A Source Book of Custeriana
by W. A. Graham
Hardcover (1953)
By far the best of the vast Custer literature.
Graham gathers together in one place primary data and lets you draw your own
conclusions. On Custer, Graham is the only author I have read who writes
without massaging his data to support some preconcieved theory.
This
book was not bashed out to meet a schedule or catch a market window; Graham gathered data
literally for decades. Being an army officer -- Judge Advocate Corp -- gave
him access to files and access to survivors who were eyewitnesses to the fight at Reno's
end of the field.
Written with the expertise of an historian and imagined
on an epic scale with all of the grandeur of the Yellowstone country, Robert Skimin
vividly recreates the life and times of two of the most celebrated leaders of their time,
Gen. George Armstrong Custer and Chief Sitting Bull.
Capturing in rich detail native Sioux spirituality and culture, as well as the American
history and politics of the day, The River and the Horsemen is the spellbinding story of
the personal and political events that led to one of the bloodiest days in western warfare
— captivating the interest of the whole world.
You may be looking for the famous generals of the US civil
war, the hunt for Osama bin
Laden, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis
or the
holocaust,
Vietnam or the Second World War, weapons through the
ages, US Military
Regulation Dress Swords, Medieval
Swords, costumes and uniforms,
Napoleon Bonaparte, the French
Revolution, Masonic Pope
or
Royal Regalia or GI Joe.
Australian Order of Precedence
Missile Crisis in Cuba - President John F. Kennedy - Bay of Pigs
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Civil War Sabre
