Regardless of Custer's actions at the Last Stand, History is so interesting. I am fascinated by Gettyburg and Civil war. Also have spent a lot of study of Doc Holliday. I remember visiting Tombstone when just a kid. Still have a book my Dad bought from a Old Geezer who was about 85 or 90 at the time, and had him autograph the book. I live in Virginia and it is so chock full of American history, battlefields etc. I would love to have my own time machine. To go back into history, not forward. Forward is too frighting.
Three of the best books I have ever read on the subject were “The Custer Reader” (Edited by Paul A. Hutton), "A Terrible Glory” (James Donovan) and "Custer & Crazyhorse"(Stephen Ambrose).
In “The Custer Reader” the author examines the writings of Custer’s contemporaries as well as how the popular view of Custer has changed over the years and examines the theory that Benteen deliberately abandoned Custer to his fate and includes the immediate account of the battle and the account given at the court of inquiry and points out how the number of Indians grew between the two tellings and speculates that it’s possible Benteen was trying to cover up his deliberate abandonment of Custer.
TCR also examines the idea that Custer was trying for one big victory to set up a Presidential run. The author contends that Custer was quite content to be a soldier but found himself stuck in a peace time Army with very little chance for advancement (Example Charles Varnum was a Second Lieutenant at the Battle of Little Bighorn and had only been promoted to Captain by Wounded Knee.) . The Book Speculates that it’s far more likely that Custer was trying to distinguish himself in an effort to gain promotion to Brigadier General.
"A Terrible Glory" points out that prior to LBH the Indians had never stood and fought and that they had routinely been beaten by numerically inferior U.S. forces with superior firepower. It also points out that Custer did not disobey orders but that his orders were very general and left him plenty of room to react to the changing situation.
Donavan also points out that while Custer’s battalion commanders might have been good fighters , they were crappy officers who were trying to advance their careers in the same slow moving peace time Army. It also draws the conclusion that the survivors placed all the blame on Custer who wasn’t around to defend himself in an effort to save their careers.
"Custer and Crazyhorse" examines all of Custer's life. Not just a brief look at his military career and The Little Bighorn. It fills lot of the blank spaces in other biographies that only look at his military career.
According to Stephen Ambrose'1975 book "Crazy Horse and Custer", Custer made four critical mistakes: (paraphrasing a bit):
1. He refused to accept Terry's offer of four troops of the 2nd Cav. If Reno had had two more troops with him, he might have had sufficient momentum to make a successful chafrge when he first came upon the Sioux camp. Had Custer had two more troops with him, he might have made it up the hill.
2. Custer badly underestimated his enemy, not so much in terms of numbers as in terms of fighting capability, where he was disastrously wrong.
3. He assumed that his men could do what he could do; to put it another way, he attacked too soon. He should have spent June 25 resting, then attacked the next day, when Gibbon could have, on urgent request, reinforced him. All Indian accounts agree that Custer's men and horses, like Reno's, were so exhausted that their legs trembled. It was a hot day, which further cut the trooper's efficiency. He committed his command when he did not know his enemie's position, strength, or location. He also lost the element of surprise. His enemies knew more about his force than he knew about them.
4. When he lost the initiative, he failed to gain the high ground and dig in, although here one should perhaps blame Custer less and praise Crazy Horse more
What I find really interesting is according to Ambrose Custer was repeatedly offered chances to go into politics and he turned them all down. This really makes me question the popular theory that he was trying to win the Battle of the Little Bighorn so set himself up for a presidential run.
He apparently was also offered several civilian jobs that would have paid much better than the army and turned them all down too. I find that especially surprising given that Custer was
NOT a wealthy man.
I think anyone with a serious interest in LBH would benefit from reading either or all of these books.