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Four Myths About George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
The movies usually get it all wrong
Even people with no interest in history are aware of the most famous battle of the Indian Wars that followed the American Civil War, the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. In the almost 150 years since the storied battle took place, the history of it has been revised multiple times, usually for either jingoistic effect or, on the opposite extreme, out of political correctness. The same is true of the man who led US Cavalry forces in that disastrous encounter, George Armstrong Custer.
During my own lifetime I have seen Custer go from being portrayed as a hero to a villain to simply incompetent. As is almost always the case, the real history is too complex for simplistic answers. Let me say at the outset that this article does not cover the broader history of the Indian Wars or the treatment of Native Americans throughout our nation’s history. Suffice it to say that that chapter is, along with the institution of slavery, our saddest and most regrettable, and one that we are still coming to terms with today. This article deals specifically with George Custer and his final battle near the Little Big Horn River.
It’s no surprise that myths grew up around the battle, and the man himself, almost…
