Custer's last stand occurred 147 years ago today.

Reading this, you get the idea of why his life and military career ended badly. The term "loose cannon" comes to mind. He wasn't afraid to rush in, whether it was the right thing to do, or not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armstrong_Custer

His best asset was his wife, who made him famous.

A few years ago I shot prairie dogs on the res which required an Indian guide. His name was Custer. Loved Budweiser.

My wifes Gr Gr Uncle William Baker was in Custer's Grey Horse Company E. He's still out there somewhere. His name is on the monument - right side near the lower black mark: W H Baker. He was 28.

I bet the men whose name's are on that stone would have a lot to say about Custer's leadership abilities.

When we were kids in New Mexico, men like Custer, Billy The Kid, Davey Crockett, Robert E. Lee, Jim Bowie, Geronimo, etc. were icons, if not heroes. It all depended on your point of view.

True. I have read that the 7th Cav. had a high suicide rate, + lets face it; if you kept your nose clean + were a good trooper, you would probably a better posting than the one with Custer.

Custer wore an Arrow shirt

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
Custer wore an Arrow shirt

According to Nathanial Philbrick, he also wore an arrow condom.

I've had a different take for a while, I wouldn't say I'm right either.

Custer did rush in, but he won! Custer's, bravery, brash arrogance, bluster, you choose actually helped him or didn't stop him from succeeding. In WW2, Patton regularly outran his supplies and reinforcements and also won.

I think Grant, Sherman and Sheridan sent Custer out West because he was the officer that they thought could defeat the Indians. We think of Washita as a massacre, crime and a black spot today, but in those times that was a victory for the White Man and America.

Sherman's March to the Sea and his burning of Atlanta was considered a success and victory. His tactics were to leave his reinforcements behind and forage off the land. With that map of success, why would Custer behave differently?

I was born in 1952 and spent the summers and long holidays with my grandparents in Sulphur Bluff Texas. The old men would met at the post office, sit in the shade and shoot the bull. The men that were 70+ were still angry about Sherman.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
Custer wore an Arrow shirt

According to Nathanial Philbrick, he also wore an arrow condom.

A condom was a part of a sheep in those days!

Hip

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
I was born in 1952 and spent the summers and long holidays with my grandparents in Sulphur Bluff Texas. The old men would met at the post office, sit in the shade and shoot the bull. The men that were 70+ were still angry about Sherman.

Ugly. No offense intended to your elders, I respect them very much, but their history in that part is horrible and ugly.
As Sherman said, "war is Hell."

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
I was born in 1952 and spent the summers and long holidays with my grandparents in Sulphur Bluff Texas. The old men would met at the post office, sit in the shade and shoot the bull. The men that were 70+ were still angry about Sherman.

Ugly. No offense intended to your elders, I respect them very much, but their history in that part is horrible and ugly.
As Sherman said, "war is Hell."

And as Lee said: “it is well that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it.”

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
I was born in 1952 and spent the summers and long holidays with my grandparents in Sulphur Bluff Texas. The old men would met at the post office, sit in the shade and shoot the bull. The men that were 70+ were still angry about Sherman.

Ugly. No offense intended to your elders, I respect them very much, but their history in that part is horrible and ugly.
As Sherman said, "war is Hell."

And as Lee said: “it is well that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it.”

And here we are, modern war now so sanitized so that combat and conflict is arbitrary, bloodless, effortless. Modern war is a video game for elementary age kids.

I think Sherman and Lee would be horrified at how cavalier and casual modern warfare is for Americans.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by rabbithabit:
I was born in 1952 and spent the summers and long holidays with my grandparents in Sulphur Bluff Texas. The old men would met at the post office, sit in the shade and shoot the bull. The men that were 70+ were still angry about Sherman.

Ugly. No offense intended to your elders, I respect them very much, but their history in that part is horrible and ugly.
As Sherman said, "war is Hell."

And as Lee said: “it is well that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it.”

And here we are, modern war now so sanitized so that combat and conflict is arbitrary, bloodless, effortless. Modern war is a video game for elementary age kids.

I think Sherman and Lee would be horrified at how cavalier and casual modern warfare is for Americans.

i think you are absolutely right.

History tells us that Custer was a desperate self-promoter.

A physically brave but ultimately foolish man, much to the detriment of his fellow officers and men.

Bravery coupled with foolishness in a military man is a very bad combination.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
History tells us that Custer was a desperate self-promoter.

A physically brave but ultimately foolish man, much to the detriment of his fellow officers and men.

Bravery coupled with foolishness in a military man is a very bad combination.

I'm not about to argue with you or tell you I'm right, but would you say that Patton was also a desperate self promoter, physically brave but foolish?

I'm inclined to think Patton wasn't foolish, but like Custer, Patton regularly outran his supplies and reinforcements.

I think Custer outran his ability.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
History tells us that Custer was a desperate self-promoter.

A physically brave but ultimately foolish man, much to the detriment of his fellow officers and men.

Bravery coupled with foolishness in a military man is a very bad combination.

I'm not about to argue with you or tell you I'm right, but would you say that Patton was also a desperate self promoter, physically brave but foolish?

I'm inclined to think Patton wasn't foolish, but like Custer, Patton regularly outran his supplies and reinforcements.

Patton was a self-promoter, but for good reason, and definitely neither desperate nor foolish.

I would have followed Patton without hesitation.

I would never have followed Custer, except if I had had no choice, and then only under protest.

Custer's, like Patton's, style might be questioned but performance matters. History has a funny way of emphasizing certain characteristics while ignoring others and Hollywood certainly does not emphasize truth or reality. I do not question a lot of things from the past as I was not there and things (like attitudes, morays, lifestyles, and practices) were quite different and not to be judged by current views of what is right or wrong.