New Custer bio on PBS

Historians are now coming to a middle ground regarding Custer between the romanticized tragic hero of "The Last Stand," which prevailed from the late 19th century until the mid-1960s, and the bumbling buffoon, as portrayed by Richard Campbell in the movie, "Little Big Man," a view that many continue to hold.

The truth is Custer was a capable Indian fighter and a competent cavalry officer who did in fact serve with distinction in the Civil War, and it is beyond debate that had he not died in such a spectacular manner, he'd have been forgotten by all but the most esoteric 19th-century historian.

Still, Custer entered the Little Bighorn campaign overconfident and without an understanding of the forces he was about to confront. He was not alone in this regard. No one in authority in the U.S. government or the Army anticipated the size and scope of the coalition that Sitting Bull had assembled in the spring of 1876.

Custer rode into Medicine Tail Coulee thinking he was attacking a normal Sioux encampment, that is approximately 200-300 braves, and suddenly encountered a force of about 1,200 Sioux and Cheyenne. By then it was too late. He had already split his force of approximately 600 into a three-pronged attack, a strategy that would have worked in a normal situation, but which left him vulnerable against superior numbers with superior firepower. Crazy House skillfully deployed his men in such a way as to keep Benteen and Reno pinned down and unable to come to Custer's aid, while forcing Custer into an indefensible position without any means of escape.

The irony is that by humiliating the Army as they did, the Indians hastened the demise of their way of life. The Army extracted grim revenge for the destruction of Custer's force, and native Americans all across the West paid a steep price for Crazy Horse's moment of triumph.

 

A whippin' from which the reputation of the 7th Cav has never recovered.

 

People who choose to watch Survivor or Sweet Home Alabama or American Idol or all that sort of stuff, while NEVER choosing to watch this sort of bio stuff (and I mean a good dose of PBS, mixed in with A&E and Biography and other cable non-fiction networks) I don't understand.
This stuff is always so fascinating.

 

Well, the Sioux made the mistake of choosing a horse to be the last contestant standing. And, even though it does have some minor celebrity status stuffed and in a case in its afterlife, it didn't exactly rocket to stardom.

http://naturalhistory.ku.edu/explore-topic/comanche-preservation/comanche-preservation

 

So you're saying he went to a good place to get his ass kicked?

 

You sum it up pretty much as spot on as it gets from start to finish. Thanks.
Custer was held in high enough regard during the war that he was on hand at Appomatox and it was either him (or maybe Chamberlain) that was given the desk the paperwork was signed upon.
I will say, though, that his action at Gettysburg was more of a "Stuart loss" than a "Custer victory" because Stuart had the force to take Custer's cavalry and get in behind the Union lines but when Custer charged, Stuart froze up. Stuart, along with a handful of other Virginia generals going all the way to the top, made numerous mistakes during the course of those three days that altered the course of Western history.

 

It was Custer who was given the desk.

 

I thought it was Custer.
I was wrong once before when I though I'd made a mistake only to realize I was right in the first place. ;D

 

Enjoyed the show last night. Well done.
Next week: Wyatt Earp and Geronimo.

 

I wonder if somebody yelled, "Hey, stop that guy with the hatchet!"