American West: 1861-76

Lesson 3: Massacres, Military Leaders, Indian Retaliations, & More Gold

Warriors White and Red

In the final days of the American Civil War, war flared bright and bloody on the Great Plains where, instead of brother against brother, it was truly a case of warrior against warrior. Unknown to these Sioux, Cheyenne, and other Plains warriors who were fighting for their homeland and the very lives of their people, another warrior waited in the wings of history to make his mark against these Native fighters.

George Armstrong Custer

By this time George Armstrong Custer, the man that was being called the “Boy General”, had long since killed his first man. According to Thomas A. Lewis in his book, The Guns of Cedar Creek, “killing his fellow men never bothered Custer, not even the first time.” Lewis points out that the “taking of human life usually sobered the most fervent patriot and matured the most callow youth” but this was not the case with Custer.

Where it was the white man’s nature to keep such bloody acts to one's self, and shield mother and sister from such things, it was not so with the Indian Warrior. The native fighter boasted, danced, and sang in honor of his exploits against his enemy. And so it was nearly the same with George Custer. Proudly he reported his first kill to the members of his large extended family with all the bravado of a schoolboy bringing home his kill for the family table.

By the time two years had passed, Custer’s actions had given him the distinction of being the youngest general in the Union Army. In June of 1863, George Armstrong Custer was promoted to the rank of General. He was twenty-three years old. Custer’s attitude toward killing and his, often foolhardy, bravery was not the only similarity he shared with the warriors of the Plains.

Captain George B. Sanford has left us an interesting description of Custer. He says that Custer “possessed tremendous energy and immense physical power. His great height and striking countenance made him a very imposing figure.” Sanford writes that Custer’s blue eyes, blond mustache and great mass of blond curling hair gave him the appearance of a Viking. But Custer’s similarity to his red brothers did not end with his energy and physical power.

Custer seems to have had as much liking for fancy ornaments and wearing apparel as any decked-out warrior had. His uniform consisted of dark brown velveteen riding breeches with piping in gold that were tucked into very long cavalry boots. He wore a dark brown velveteen jacket, its sleeves encrusted with enormous gold filigrees. This was combined with a crimson sailor’s shirt, an immensely broad slouch hat, and a long flowing cravat of red cashmere around his neck. He must have been a sight to see. One can not help wondering whether it was his bravery that caused his enemies to turn and run, or the General’s costume.

This was the man the Indians of the Plains would soon come to fear and hate.

Custer was also know for his liking of high-jinks. For an example of this, take a look at this article about Custer and his wife, Libbie.

Mrs. Custer’s Merry Mister By Mary Trotter Kion http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/grea...

The source for this section is:

Brady, Cyrus Townshend. The Sioux Indian Wars, From the Powder River to the Little Big Horn. Indian Head Books, New York, 1992.

Lewis, Thomas A. The Guns of Cedar Creek. Harper & Row, New York, 1988.

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