Who And What Was George Custer?

[schmalts]

Yes, the battlefield is worthy of a visit, but no, the line about being stupid is what shows the little knowledge people have of Custer.

Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and every last one of his soldier were dead.
You can say what you want......that day, he was stupid

 

[shrapnel]

Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and every last one of his soldier were dead.
You can say what you want......that day, he was stupid

You are wrong again, maybe you should try reading more about what happened and how, before you make your statements made from hearsay and poor sources.

 

[VikingsGuy]

You are wrong again, maybe you should try reading more about what happened and how, before you make your statements made from hearsay and poor sources.

Your adamant declaration of a single truth on Custer far out paces the actual historical record. But it looks like Mr. and Mrs. Custer’s paid publicist’s work is still paying dividends all these years later.

 

[shrapnel]

Your adamant declaration of a single truth on Custer far out paces the actual historical record. But it looks like Mr. and Mrs. Custer’s paid publicist’s work is still paying dividends all these years later.

Tell me what you think about Nelson Miles’ statement in regards to Custer’s actions. I believe he was much more in touch with Custer specifically and Indian wars in general.

If you have the same opinion of his observation, I rest my case...


"The more I see of movements here the more admiration I have for Custer," Colonel Nelson Miles wrote from the field to his wife several months after the Battle of the Little Big horn," and I am satisfied his like will not be found very soon again."

 

[VikingsGuy]

Tell me what you think about Nelson Miles’ statement in regards to Custer’s actions. I believe he was much more in touch with Custer specifically and Indian wars in general.

If you have the same opinion of his observation, I rest my case...


"The more I see of movements here the more admiration I have for Custer," Colonel Nelson Miles wrote from the field to his wife several months after the Battle of the Little Big horn," and I am satisfied his like will not be found very soon again."

Miles is known as the number one cheerleader for Custer so his remarks require more than a few grains of salt. If you want to convince others of the unequal brilliance of Custer you are going to have to find a more believable source than that.

I did a fair amount of reading about the Indian wars back in the day and I found one of the better ones to be, "The Earth is Weeping" - it hardly declared Custer a genius.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

How about that Thomas Custer?! That dude was BA at capture the flag.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Too soon? . . .

 

[RobertD]

Too soon? . . .

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I haven't found their cheese to be the paradigm shift some of you guys make it out to be. But I believe Tillamook ice cream changed my life.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Too soon? . . .

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Not soon enough

 

[shrapnel]

Miles is known as the number one cheerleader for Custer so his remarks require more than a few grains of salt. If you want to convince others of the unequal brilliance of Custer you are going to have to find a more believable source than that.

I did a fair amount of reading about the Indian wars back in the day and I found one of the better ones to be, "The Earth is Weeping" - it hardly declared Custer a genius.

Of course you will find people that don’t like, even detest Custer, but what makes that book credible.

If you read the testimonies from the soldiers at Reno’s inquiry and people like George Herendeen, you will find witnesses to Custer that are personal and not from reading someone else’s testimony.

If you want to find an eyewitness account of Custer from someone who hated him, Benteen is your man. I guarantee you won’t find anything complimentary in his writings and they are not without merit. Benteen was the consummate soldier, more than capable of the fights he was in, including the Little Bighorn Battle. I can’t disregard his testimony, but other accounts and circumstances around that battle aren’t enough to totally discredit Custer.

I stand in neutral ground, but it seems I am more of a Custer supporter than critic. After years of research and being on and around the battlefield for nearly 50 years, I have made my conclusions from many credible sources.

I was involved with a History Channel documentary on what another friend and I had discovered about battle artifacts and had the privilege to work with known experts of the battle and all the their knowledge of the leaders of both Indians and Cavalry. As I posted earlier, I have had the luxury of the tutorial of these people and covered the battlefield with them.

I was there last weekend, twisted my ankle and still Steve Adelson one of the published park rangers from the battlefield, pushed me around the battlefield in a wheelchair and showed many of the sites where individual companies, Custer, Reno and Benteen stood and fought.

Through their combined research and comments, I have concluded Custer was not the fool that people make him out to be, as they just parrot other stories and rumors without the background that I have been fortunate enough to enjoy.

 

[schmalts]

Of course you will find people that don’t like, even detest Custer, but what makes that book credible.

If you read the testimonies from the soldiers at Reno’s inquiry and people like George Herendeen, you will find witnesses to Custer that are personal and not from reading someone else’s testimony.

If you want to find an eyewitness account of Custer from someone who hated him, Benteen is your man. I guarantee you won’t find anything complimentary in his writings and they are not without merit. Benteen was the consummate soldier, more than capable of the fights he was in, including the Little Bighorn Battle. I can’t disregard his testimony, but other accounts and circumstances around that battle aren’t enough to totally discredit Custer.

I stand in neutral ground, but it seems I am more of a Custer supporter than critic. After years of research and being on and around the battlefield for nearly 50 years, I have made my conclusions from many credible sources.

I was involved with a History Channel documentary on what another friend and I had discovered about battle artifacts and had the privilege to work with known experts of the battle and all the their knowledge of the leaders of both Indians and Cavalry. As I posted earlier, I have had the luxury of the tutorial of these people and covered the battlefield with them.

I was there last weekend, twisted my ankle and still Steve Adelson one of the published park rangers from the battlefield, pushed me around the battlefield in a wheelchair and showed many of the sites where individual companies, Custer, Reno and Benteen stood and fought.

Through their combined research and comments, I have concluded Custer was not the fool that people make him out to be, as they just parrot other stories and rumors without the background that I have been fortunate enough to enjoy.

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So him and all his men were not slaughtered that day in short order? You think he was acting smart that day instead of stupid arrogance? Please do tell how getting him and all his men killed in short order instead of waiting for others to join him were the opposite of stupid.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Offered tongue in cheek so let's not get the pitchforks quite yet . . . .

To paraphrase the former Cheetos in Chief, "I like military geniuses who didn't die with all their troops."

 

[VikingsGuy]

I am the only one who can't keep @RobertD and @DouglasR separate? Maybe late-onset dyslexia

 

[DouglasR]

I am the only one who can't keep @RobertD and @DouglasR separate? Maybe late-onset dyslexia

Let me really blow your mind. My first name is actually Robert and my initials are RDR. Lol

 

[Dakota79]

By the way, were you referring to the Sioux conflicts with the Arikara, Pawnee, Cree, Sauteurs, Ojibwe, Outaouas, or some other tribe? Or is the focus more on labelling the Sioux "just as bad" rather than addressing a specific event that we can evaluate?

Would Crow Buttes qualify?

 

[RobertD]

I think we're both cat dads too. But I don't have the ski-skills that my man Douglas has

 

[shrapnel]

So him and all his men were not slaughtered that day in short order? You think he was acting smart that day instead of stupid arrogance? Please do tell how getting him and all his men killed in short order instead of waiting for others to join him were the opposite of stupid.

There is no answer to ignorance. You don’t have a clue to the terrain, the deployment, fighting Indians, cavalry tactics, and dozens of other aspects of the battle. I could prove to you that you are wrong and you wouldn’t change your mind, so what is the point in a discussion with someone that doesn’t know anything?

 

[VikingsGuy]

There is no answer to ignorance. You don’t have a clue to the terrain, the deployment, fighting Indians, cavalry tactics, and dozens of other aspects of the battle. I could prove to you that you are wrong and you wouldn’t change your mind, so what is the point in a discussion with someone that doesn’t know anything?

Lots of authors (and a few direct witnesses) disagree with your conclusions - it doesn't make them 100% right or wrong, as you are neither 100% right nor wrong. Frankly, the vigorous nature of your defense is enough to cause folks to discount them - even in events that happened this century direct witnesses disagree. The history of Custer is messy - there is no guaranteed answer - to suggest otherwise 150 years later with secondary and tertiary sources is in its own way ignorant - and I do agree that is tough to argue with.

 

[Handlebar]

There is no answer to ignorance. You don’t have a clue to the terrain, the deployment, fighting Indians, cavalry tactics, and dozens of other aspects of the battle. I could prove to you that you are wrong and you wouldn’t change your mind, so what is the point in a discussion with someone that doesn’t know anything?

Have you read the work of Fred Dustin? Curious as to your opinion of his thoughts.

 

[WildWill]

He almost got massacred at the Washita and rushed into the little bighorn without proper scouting(also ignored the advice of his Crow scouts). I think arrogance more then stupidity was his problem or he just genuinely had a death wish. He allowed his fear of the Indians escaping to cloud his judgment and rushed in. Compared to men like Miles and Crook he dosen't hold up.