Custer Custer the hero.

I think Custer was a Hero, at the most vital of times for the Union during the ACW.
His Michigan Brigade's heroic charge at Gettysburg stopped Stuart's attempt to reach the Federal rear, and greatly contributed to that victory. Again he served with distinction during the Shenandoah valley campaign, capturing Early's Army at Waynesboro, and finally his Command was responsible for cutting off the Confederate Army's last escape route at Appomattox.

Well, to pick a bit of a nit here, there's no evidence Stuart was trying to reach the Federal rear. In fact, if he was, his actions made no sense, which argues that in fact was not his goal. This does not diminish Custer's heroism in leading charges from the front.
 
Well,I guess you haven't read enough accounts. Here's a good one with a timeline for you. Lakota Noon by Greg Michno. Actually,Custer's battle from the first shot fired by Custer to the last shot fired by Custer approaches one and a half hours. It's right there in Michno's timeline. The firing was sporadic at the beginning. The one half hour to which you refer is just the final phase of Custer's battle.

No need I've read more then enough accounts to feel comfortable with what happened, besides any account with "Had the Indians surrendered,Custer would have been praised for his imaginative attack" would be fiction anyway. I suppose if the Japanese had just flew their planes to Hickam field and landed to surrender, Pearl Harbor would have turned out differently. but doesn't constitute much a scholarly study.

If someone else want to argue over the minutes the monumental failure lasted it doesn't really matter to me personally, It hardly changes that it was in fact a monumental failure and the blame goes in fact to the one in charge.

His scouts had been warning him for days the trails/village they were approaching was unprecedented, so that something besides what you call a standard attack should have been considered would have seemed a reasonable course.

Then you say "At no time did Custer even consider that the Lakota/Sioux would stay and fight, beyond what was necessary to permit a successful escape" don't disagree, but whose fault would it be that a commander of a cavalry unit, a unit noted for its ability to conduct recon, that had scouts attached to it.....whose job is to scout.....would find himself so totally in the dark about both the enemies size and intentions?.....
 
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Custer's deployment of his regiment at LBH, was standard at the time for a cavalry attack on a Native American village. The objective was to capture the non-combatants before the village could pack up, move and subsequently disperse. At no time did Custer even consider that the Lakota/Sioux would stay and fight, beyond what was necessary to permit a successful escape. As far as Custer was concerned, no Native American force, regardless of size, had ever successfully fought an entire regiment of the US Cavalry. It is very probable that any other commanding officer in the US Cavalry at the time, faced with the situation at LBH, would have employed the same tactics as did Custer.......of course when news of the Rosebud and LBH got out, the tactics were reconsidered.
Was he not suppose to wait for the other forces before attacking ,that this was to be a three sided attack and why did he send Rino away to attack the willage? Prehaps I have seen to many Custer movies.Could you recomend a good bio. on Custer ?
 
Was he not suppose to wait for the other forces before attacking ,that this was to be a three sided attack and why did he send Rino away to attack the willage? Prehaps I have seen to many Custer movies.Could you recomend a good bio. on Custer ?
See my posts #51 and #67 above.
 
Trials of Custer by T.J. Stiles. Interesting personal info re Custer not a study of the LBH. Enjoy
 
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