General Custer - Dec. 5, 1839

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   HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENERAL CUSTER

George A. Custer

Dec. 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876

Commissioned a second lieutenant in the old 2nd Cavalry, later the 5th, on June 24, 1861.

His Civil War assignments included: first lieutenant, 5th Cavalry July 17, 1862); captain and additional aide-de-camp, USA June 5,1862 - March 31, 1863); brigadier general, USV June 29, 1863); commanding 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac June 28 - July 15 and August 4 November 25, 1863 and December 20, 1863 - January 7, 1864); temporarily commanding the division July 15 - August 4 and November 25 - December 20, 1863); commanding lst Brigade, lst Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac (March 25 - August 6, 1864) and Army of the Shenandoah (August 6 -September 26, 1864); temporarily commanding 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia serving with the Army of the Shenandoah (September 26-30, 1864); commanding 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Shenandoah (September 30, 1864 - January 5, 1865 and January 30 - March 25, 1865) and Army of the Potomac (March 25 - May 22, 1865); and major general, USV (April 15, 1865). 

Serving during the first two war years on the staffs of Generals McClellan and Pleasanton, Custer saw action in the Peninsular, Antietam, and Chancellorsville campaigns. Given his own star, he was assigned command of the Michigan cavalry brigade and, with it, took part in the Gettysburg, Bristoe, and Mine Run campaigns.

In early 1862 he was one of the first men to ascend in a hot air balloon to observe enemy troops.

At Gettysburg he remained with General Gregg east of town to face JEB Stuart's threat to the Union rear, although he was previously ordered to the south. The combined Union force defeated Stuart.

In Grant's Richmond drive in 1864, Custer participated in the fight at Yellow Tavern where Stuart was mortally wounded.

Transferred to the Shenandoah Valley with his men, he played a major role in the defeat of Early's army at Winchester and Cedar Creek, commanding a division at the latter.

Returning to the Army of the Potomac in early 1865, he fought at Five Forks; and in the Appomattox Campaign. Was brevetted in the regulars through grades to major general for Gettysburg, Yellow Tavern, Winchester, Five Forks, and the Appomattox Campaign. In addition he was brevetted major general of volunteers for Winchester.

For the Spring campaign Custer's command had been reinforced from two to three brigades. The 1st Brigade, Commanded by COL Alexander Pennington, consisted of the 1st Connecticut, 3rd New Jersey, 2nd New York, and the 2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiments, and a battalion of the 18th Pennsylvania. The 2nd, commanded by COL William Wells (acting for John Coppington) had the 8th, 15th, and 22nd New York regiments, along with a squadron of the 3rd Indiana, and a detachment of the 1st New Hampshire. The new 3rd Brigade, commanded by COL Henry Capehart, had the 1st New York (known as the "Lincoln" Cavalry), the 3rd West Virginia, and elements of the 1st and 2nd West Virginia. Custer's Division counted some 4,500 troopers at full strength. All sporting distinctive red ties to mark them as a member of Custer's Division, they were a proud bunch.

At Waynesboro, Custer’s Division seized 17 Confederate battle flags - and recaptured the flag of Union General George Crook's Corps, captured at Cedar Creek. For their efforts Custer's Division was awarded a total of 15 Congressional Medals of Honor. The cost to Custer's 3rd Cavalry Division for this stunning triumph in total killed and wounded was a mere 9 soldiers.

At the White House President Abraham Lincoln meets Custer’s wife, Elizabeth and says, “So you are the wife of the general who goes into battle with a whoop and a holler!”

Custer personally received the first flag of surrender from General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Remaining in the army after the war, in 1866 he was 
appointed Lt. Col. of the newly authorized 7th Cavalry, remaining its active commander until his death. He took part in the 1867 Sioux and Cheyenne expedition, but was court-martialed and suspended from duty one year for paying an unauthorized visit to his wife. His army career ended June 25, 1876, at the battle of Little Big Horn, which resulted in the extermination of his immediate command and a total loss of some 266 officers and men. On June 28th, the bodies were given a hasty burial on the field. The following year, what may have been Custer's remains were disinterred and given a military funeral at West Point.

Of course, Custer will always be most remembered for the day on the Little Big Horn when his eye for the battlefield and his tactical instincts failed him. Any balanced appraisal of Custer as a soldier must remember what he did during the American Civil War and performed within the scope of his particular life and times. 