Custer's Trials: A Life On The Frontier Of A New America, Stiles - B

                   This Pulitzer winning biography attempts to tell Custer's story as he lived it, and not as a prelude to "the march to the Little Bighorn." The hope is "to explain why his celebrity, and notoriety, spanned both the Civil War and the years on the frontier, resting on neither exclusively but incorporating both."

                   The son of a blacksmith, he received the coveted appointment to West Point in 1857. He was never much of a cadet and was constantly on report. "He laughed in class, threw snowballs, and lobbed bread across the mess hall." In his fourth year, he watched as state after state seceded and his classmates from the south left. Although he was sympathetic and close to the southerners, he "stood firm for the Union." He graduated last in his class, and was court-martialed soon after for allowing two cadets under his supervision to fight each other. He was found guilty, but not punished and was off to Washington. He actually made it to Bull Run but missed the battle, and joined Phil Kearney's staff. He saw his first action during the Peninsula Campaign. He was assigned to an engineering battalion, scouted the enemy from 1,000 feet in a balloon, and excelled in a number of skirmishes. He drew the attention of McClellan and joined his staff. He performed with considerable bravery and came to idolize Little Mac, who despised Lincoln, and Stanton, and hated the Black man. When McClellan was relieved, Custer felt that the "Abolitionist radicals had stabbed him in the back."

                  After Antietam, he spent the winter home in Monroe, Michigan. The following April, he was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The politically well-connected Custer was appointed Brigadier General in June. He led four cavalry regiments from Michigan. On the third day of Gettysburg, Lee attacked in the center with infantry and sent Jeb Stuart's cavalry around the Union right to attack from the rear. The Michigan Brigade stood athwart their path. Custer personally led a charge that stopped the Confederate cavalry. He made a material contribution to the Union victory, and was now a nationally-recognized hero.

                 On Feb. 9, 1864, he married Libbie Bacon before 300 people in Monroe, Michigan. Two months later, Grant changed the leadership of the Cavalry and Phil Sheridan in charge. At Yellow Tavern during the Wilderness Campaign, one of Custer's men shot and killed Jeb Stuart. Custer quickly became Phil Sheridan's favorite. Custer continued to throw himself into every battle and every charge with unparalleled effort, panache, and the utmost of luck. He had innumerable horses shot out under him and was hit by at least three bullets, fortunately spent out and lacking in lethality. In the fall, Sheridan was tasked with expelling Jubal Early from the Shenandoah Valley. Custer again excelled and was elevated from "Union hero to national icon." Twenty-five year old Major General Custer finished the war at Appomattox. He had entered it as the lowest 2nd Lt. "His energy, tactical skill, and courage" had propelled him to the top. 

                 "As peace began, all that was self-absorbed and self-destructive in Custer bubbled to the surface again." Sheridan assigned Custer to an administrative post in Texas. His command was a total failure, as he could not adjust to peacetime, was inconsistent, temperamental, and such an over the top disciplinarian that complaints reached Grant. He stole a valuable horse, lied to the authorities, and evidenced a complete disregard for the freed slaves. His time in the south was brief, as he was mustered out of the army in January, 1866. Later in the year, he was afforded the opportunity to return to the army as a Lt. Col. at Ft. Riley, Kansas. A year later, he was court-martialed at Ft. Leavenworth for being AWOL, the abusive treatment of government horses, and the extrajudicial execution of men under his command. He had left his assignment at Ft. Wallace to ride over 200 miles to see Libbie, with whom he had been quarreling over what is generally assumed to be an extra-marital affair on his part.  He was found guilty on all three counts. He was suspended for a year, but returned to duty with the support of Grant and Sheridan. In November of 1868, Sheridan sent Custer south into Indian Territory in pursuit of a band of Cheyenne warriors. With 800 men of the 7th Cavalry charging to the tune 'Gary Owen,' Custer led his first charge in years on a Cheyenne camp. Although many women and children were captured as hostages, a great many also perished in the dawn attack. No warriors survived the morning. It was the first army victory over the southern Cheyenne, and many surrendered and came to the camps. Sheridan was once again very happy with his favorite cavalry officer.

                 A long leave and a brief, unsuccessful attempt to become a financier in NY was followed by an unpleasant tour in Kentucky, where federal troops were maintaining the peace between the races. By March of 1873, he was back in the Dakota Territories. The army's role was to "escort the surveyors from the Northern Pacific Railroad, protecting them from Sioux attacks." His efforts that summer were again successful as he managed and fought well. The following summer, he headed for the Black Hills. Many hoped he would find gold because it would lead to a vast influx of whites, provoking the northern Plains Indians into their Armageddon. Gold was discovered.

                 On May 18, 1876, Custer led all twelve regiments of the 7th Cavalry out of Ft. Abraham Lincoln and headed west toward  what was expected to be the final fight of the war with the Sioux.  In the aftermath of June 25th*, the army convened a hearing at the Palmer House in Chicago. The two officers generally believed to have not executed their orders that day, Reno and Benteen, clearly perjured themselves in an attempt to avoid condemnation. The inquiry did not reprimand either man, and concluded that the number of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors was so unusually high that day, and the fact that they chose to stand and fight a pitched battle, condemned Custer and his men to death. "But Custer as glory-obsessed, arrogant fool emerged as the persistent narrative." It held then and does so today. That narrative fails in one important regard: "his performance in battle, the one field in which he displayed consistent good judgment and self-possession. From the Civil War through his two battles on the Yellowstone, he proved decisive, not reckless; shrewd,  not foolish." Probably the most insightful chronicler declared, "The simplest answer, usually overlooked, is that the army lost largely because the Indians won."

                      Libbie struggled financially, but eventually wrote  successful books that elevated her position. She invested well and lived on Park Avenue when she died in 1933.

                      Custer was arrogant, delusional, a psychopathic liar, and simply not a stand-up fella. But he was extraordinarily brave, very lucky in battle and a brilliant intuitive tactician. Much of what I have read over the years has focused on his time in the west. I had no idea how much he contributed in the Civil War. Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan appreciated and approved of his battlefield skills. He may not have the reputation that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had in those first few days of July, but he was damned close. 

*Custer's two younger brothers, a nephew and his sister's husband were with him at the Little Bighorn.