What Makes George Armstrong Custer A Good Leader

George Armstrong Custer, although a very successful military leader in the days of the Cival War, is probably best known for his biggest failure. “The battle, also known as ‘Custer’s Last Stand’, was part of the Black Hills War against a confederation of Plains Indians, including the Cheyenne and Dakota Sioux” (Foner http://www.history.com). This controversial battle is in line with the courageous, yet reckless, personality of Custer as a commander. Although his bold actions made him a distinguished cavalry commander, they were also his undoing (Foner http://www.history.com). Born in New Rumley, Ohio in 1839, George Custer was accepted into West Point Acadamy while he was only 17 years old. He was very smart but his irresponsability caused
He was stationed in the western Untied States, mostly at war with Native American tribes such as the Sioux and Cheyanne. After a battle, instead of following orders, Custer left his post and rode to a nearby town to see his wife, Elizabeth Bacon. Once this was discovered, he was suspended from the military for one year. This act was just the first of many controversial decisions made by Custer during his command. Once he returned to the service, he didn’t search for a reconnaissance team after a battle so he was in trouble again. He made many poor decisions in the next few years, the worst of which may have been breaking the Treaty of 1868 by going into the Black Hills which were sacred to the Native Americans, only making relations with them worse. He entered the mountains in search of gold and the dicovery of it there brought about a gold rush. Custer wrote a book, My Life on the Prarie, and in this book he gives reasons as to why he performed these actions (Foner
His reckless attitude towards battle caused him to make many mistakes. The biggest mistake of them all came on June 25, 1876, and it would be the last mistake he ever made. Custer spotted smoke, signaling that there were Native Americans nearby in the valley of Little Bighorn. He was instructed to wait for reinforcements because his force of about 650 men could not easily take on the Native American tribe with roughly 2500 warriors. He ignored these orders and decided to attack as soon as possible with the troops he had available. He ordered a three prong attack, in which he led his battalion in a charge at the enemy forces, which resulted in him and his troops eventually being surrounded and killed. The other two battalions suffered heavily but were able to to fight there way to a good defensive position. The site of this battle is know an attraction that has brought millions of visitors (Foner