June 1861 - George Custer graduated at the bottom of his West Point class.
He began to see himself as someone who had lived before and had fought in some of the great battles of history.
General George Armstrong Custer
as portrayed by Joseph Topinka
George attended West Point Academy, and in a class of 34 students, George Custer finished dead last in his class. He scored highest in artillery class and lowest in Cavalry tactics. It was June 1861 and civil war was approaching.
Lt. Custer rushed to Washington, D.C. to defend his country and arrived there promptly.
Riding on a borrowed horse and wildly excited about being where the action was, Custer arrived in washington and got ordered to join General McDowel's army to the west in Manassas Junction,Va.
July 1861 Battle of First Manassas... He joined the cavalry there and the after action reports after the battle show that Custer performed admirably as a member of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Co. G, he defended the retreat of the Army well.
July 17, 1861 - George Custer promoted to First lieutenant, 5th Cavalry.
March-August 1862 Peninsula Campaign...Lieutenant Custer in 1862 in John Fitz Porter's Camp during the Peninsula Campaign.
In April 1863 at Falmouth, Va. Promotion to Capt. George A. Custer, was pictured with Gen.
Alfred Pleasonton on horseback.
June 5, 1862 - George Custer promoted to Captain and additional aide-de-camp, United States Regulars.
Captain Custer in 1862 with Alfred Pleasanton's Staff.
George Custer had more pictures,paintings, and drawings made during the civil war than both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln combined.
The Peninsula Campaign, May 1862 Lt. George A. Custer, Nicolas Bowen, and William G. Jones.
George with confederate dog. After 1st Manasas Custer was in charge of finding the retreating army. He caught up with the rear guard heading south and took some prisoners and with them was this dog.
Fair Oaks,Va. Custer with captured prisoner in May 1862. Prisoner is
Lt. James Washington, a west point friend and Great Grand nephew of George Washington.
Custer on staff of Gen. Fitz-John Porter; Lieutenants William G. Jones and George A. Custer reclining; taken May 20, 1862
George was one of the first soldiers to ascend in a hot air balloon in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. He spotted the confederates retreating towards Richmond and McClellan ordered an advance.
Lieutenant Custer wading the River for a surprise attack on the Rebels that succeeded. He also forded the river on his horse for General McClellan to see how deep it was. This action had Custer promoted to Captain, and assigned the staff of General McClellan.
Captain George Custer...April 1862, Custer was attached to General George McClellan's staff during the Seven Days battle ( Peninsula Campaign ) in Virginia. George Armstrong Custer captured the first rebel battleflag for the Army of the Potomac and was promoted promptly for his vigorous service during the campaign.
August-September 1862 2nd Manassas/Antietam Campaign...Custer was seen during the battles as constantly in the saddle, riding between his Commanders delivering orders and on reconascence duty.
May 1863 at Warrenton, Virginia ( home of John S. Mosby ) during the Loudon Valley fighting. Custer was a Captain at the time. He is wearing his famous Navy/Sky Blue shirt. Notice the shirt has no stars on it. The shirt was found by Custer on a Navy Ship in 1862. His Bugler friend Joe, who rode thru the war with him, helped him choose the unique outfit and Red Tie.
May-June 1863 Chancellorsville/Brandy Station Battles
The battle of Brandy Station was the largest Cavalry battle of the Civil War. George fought well in the battle. Many of his superior officers fell in the fight and the Cavalry Corps needed to promote men, like George Custer, who were talented leaders.
Custer leading a cavalry Charge in June 1863. The Union cavalry was broken and retreating when Custer caught up with them and turned the near defeat into victory.
June 28, 1863 - George Custer promoted to Brigadier general George Custer, United States Volunteers. commanding 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.
General Alfred Pleasanton's New Cavalry staff. He cleared the slate of foreign leaders and got Custer appointed Brigadier General in June 1863. He treated Custer like his own son.
When George Custer received the News that he was promoted to Brigadier General, he was heading north into Maryland and Pennsylvania. He was in the Fredrick, Md. area. He went into the local taylor shop and had stars sewed on his blue navy shirt. The general shoulder boards were not available yet. He also had the red tie made and the famous Custer look was complete!
Hanover, Pennsylvania,June 30, 1863...Armed with 7-shot Spencer Repeating Rifles, troopers of Company E, 6th Michigan Cavalry, deploy as skirmishers under the watchful eye of their new brigade commander, General George Armstrong Custer, the Union Army’s youngest New General.
June-July-August 1863 Gettysburg Campaign On June 30th 1863 at Hanover,Pa. General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry clashed with troopers led by Generals George Custer and Judson Kilpatrick. Custer had met up with Kilpatrick in the Hanover area, and the Gettysburg campaign was underway! Hanover,Pa. now has the battle marked with trails and interpretive signs. Custer vs Stuart... The annual Battle of Hanover is held every 3rd weekend in August in Hanover, Pa.
Custer also fought at
Hunterstown,Pa. on July 2nd, now called the North Cavalry Field, and at the
East Cavalry field on July 3rd 1863. more East Cavalry field action.
Cavalry reports Gettysburg Campaign
Little did Custer know at the time, it was at Hanover,Pa., that the Custer family moved from the Roman Empire in 1699 settling in America at Hanover,Pa!
CUSTER'S GETTYSBURG REPORT
EXCELLENT GETTYSBURG 3 days of Cavalry Action
October 31st 1863 Newspapers state that General Custer reported that he drove out the rebel cavalry and Mosby in Virginia.
In late February, 1864, as a diversionary tactic to support Kilpatrick, Brig. Gen. Custer began a raid into Albemarle County, Virginia, which lasted until March 1st. Having acted as a decoy for Kilpatrick’s raid, Custer now returned to Union lines from this fairly successful raid into Virginia on March 2nd, after the Albemarle,Va. raid.
General and Mrs. George Armstrong Custer after their wedding in February 1864
March 25, 1864 - George Custer Commanding lst Brigade, lst Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.
General Custer's Headquarters just west of Winchester,Va. at the Elmwood House in 1864. It was the home of George W. Ward of the Glass family heirs. Libby and others from D.C. stayed there as the Cavalry refitted for the Valley Campaign.
Tom Custer is the first seated figure on the left (with the dog on his lap). Immediately above him is Elizabeth Custer, with George A. Custer to her left.
Behind George are Libby's Parents. Custer's bugler Joe Fought, is pictured on the left behind the Flag.
March 25, 1864 - George Custer Commanding lst Brigade, lst Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.
Wilderness Battlefield; Confederate General Stuart tries to attack the Union cavalry of Merritt and Greg. General Custer attacks with his usual impetuosity with band playing and his artillery beating it hot on the enemy.
Battle of Yellow Tavern,Va. May 11, 1864.; Custer's Report,
It was in this charge the Confederate Gen. Stuart was killed. Col. Henry Clay Pate was also among the enemy's
killed. "I have every reason to believe that the rebel Gen. J. E. B. Stuart received his death
wound from the hands of
Private John A. Huff, Company E, 5th Mich. cavalry, a former Berdan's Sharpshooter, who has since died from a wound received at Haw's shop."
Custer at Todd's Tavern
May 28th
Custer and Gregg defeat Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee at Haws Shop/Cold Harbor,Va.
George Custer in the center of the Cavalry charge at the Battle of 3rd Winchester,Va. Scene is at the Fort Collier Civil War site.
August 6, 1864 - Army of the Shenandoah, George Custer commanding 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia.
General Sheridan takes over as overall commander in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
September 30, 1864 - George Custer Commander 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Shenandoah.
Custer bows to Confederate General Thomas Rosser before the battle of
Woodstock,Va. Custer turns the flank and routs the Confederates.
Battle of Cedar Creek, Va. October 20th 1864
Stephen Dodson Ramseur...
George Custer fights the battle of Cedar Creek in Middletown,Va. from the early morning when the Confederates suprise attack, until darkness as he helps destroy and disperse the southern army.
His old West Point friend Stephen Dodson Ramseur, is mortally wounded in the battle after having 3 horses shot from under him.
Washington, D.C. October 23 1864
WE give in the subjoined
illustration a representation of the highly interesting ceremony in which
General CUSTER officiated, on Sunday,
October 23-namely, that of presenting to the Secretary of War the
Battle-Flags captured from the Rebels in
the Battle of Cedar Creek. General CUSTER arrived in
Washington on the Saturday before the ceremony took place ; and ten
of the captured flags were displayed from the railroad engine as the train came
in. During the presentation it was announced that General CUSTER had been
appointed Major-General, and this fact occasioned great enthusiasm among the
large crowd assembled to witness the ceremony.
One of the colors captured was
the head-quarters flag of the late rebel General RAMSEUR, bearing the
inscription, "On to Victory! Presented by Mr. W. T. Sutherlin." A large number
of the colors were taken by CUSTER'S Division. General RAMSEUR was a classmate
of General CUSTER'S at West Point, and as the former was dying the two reviewed
together the reminiscences of their cadet life.
GENERAL CUSTER PRESENTING CAPTURED BATTLE-FLAGS
AT THE WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 23, 1864—[SKETCHED BY A. R. WAUD.]
General Jubal Early's last battle
Battle of Waynesboro,Va. March 2nd 1865. Custer's 2500 men attack and defeat General Jubal Early's 1500 men and capture 1,500 Confederates, along with 200 wagon, 14 cannon, and 17 flags.
This was the last Civil War Battle, of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
Custer Captures the first rebel battleflag during the Peninsula Campaign and also accepts the first flag of truce from the Confederate Army.
April 15, 1865 Promotion - Major General George Custer, United States Volunteers.
Custer with Phil Sheridan at Dinwittie Courthouse,Va. April 1865
Custer pictured in May 1865 with the famous Tie and Medallion, that was a gift from Macy's department store.
Autie, Libbie and brother Tom in a group portrait in 1865. After Tom joined General Custer in November 1864, the three were nearly inseparable.
Tom Custer is the only American to date, to receive the Medal of Honor twice, in our country's history. Tom is buried in the Fort Leavenworth, Kansas National Cemetery.
Libbie Custer although almost unknown today except to historians were one of history's most romantic couples. Their marriage was one of deep love and devotion between the two. Libbie would outlive her husband by over 50 years, and as a reporter who interviewed her shortly before her death in 1933 remarked, "She was as much in love with her husband today as she was on their wedding day.
Custer's camp cook is pictured with the family and she was very devoted to George and Libby.
February 1864 - Standardsville,Va.
HISTORY OF THE BATTLE:
Standardsville Reenactment; September 16-18
Union forces, commanded by General George Armstrong Custer, headed for Charlottesville in February of 1864. Moving through Madison Courthouse, Stanardsville and Earlysville, with approximately 1,000 men and 2 guns, his forces burned and looted as they marched. Custer's men overwhelmed and captured a small Confederate force before they arrived at the Rivanna River on
Feb. 29, 1864 - Rivanna River,Va.
Here, however, General Custer encountered a superior Confederate force of infantry and artillery near Charlottesville and began retreating towards Stanardsville. Custer burned the bridge which crossed the Rivanna as well as three mills during his retreat .On
March 1st - South River,Va.
, continuing his retreat, Custer met a brigade of Jeb Stuart's Confederate Calvary. The two forces closed in at South River with a series of charges and counter charges, which ended when General Custer and his troops retreated by way of Banks Ford across South River and then headed to Culpeper.The battle was a minor skirmish but was important to Greene County's war effort. Custer's raid was very effective before he was driven off. In addition to burning bridges and mills, he also destroyed a supply depot in Stanardsville, a loss that the Confederacy, by
March of 1864, could not replace due to continually diminishing supplies in the South.
September - October 1864... Front Royal - Chester Gap,Va.
The worst human suffering of the war. Torbert / Custer is in charge of murdering 24 of Mosby's men in retaliation for the raiders murdering Montgomery Meig's son. A Union ambulance train is ambushed by Mosbys men. One man says he surrendered and they kept shooting, it was a lie. The cavalry came to the boiling point as their men were murdered in Berryville, Va. and it was time to strike back.
Custer's men marched 6 captured Ranger into Front Royal, 2 were shot, 2 were hanged, 2 were pardoned if they told where Mosby was, they did not, and they were shot.
Virginia Regimental Flag
This flag was carried by an unknown Virginia regiment. On April 8, 1865, Major Thomas Ward of General Custer's calvary division captured it near Namozine Church. Major Ward was General Custer's brother-in-law.
General Custer poses in the uniform he wore on the Richmond and Appomattox campaigns. He retained the broad-collared sailor shirt, red cravat, and floppy sombrero of his Michigan Brigade days.
George Custer Timeline
June 1861 - Graduating at the bottom of his West Point class.
June 24, 1861 - He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the old 2nd Cavalry, later the 5th.
July 17, 1861 - First lieutenant, 5th Cavalry.
June 5, 1862 - Captain and additional aide-de-camp, United States Regulars.
June 28, 1863 - Brigadier general, United States Volunteers. commanding 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.
March 25, 1864 - Commanding lst Brigade, lst Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac.
August 6, 1864 - Army of the Shenandoah, commanding 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of West Virginia.
September 30, 1864 - Commanding 3rd Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Shenandoah.
April 15, 1865 - Major General, USV.
June 1861
Serving during the first two war years on the staffs of Generals McClellan and Pleasonton, Custer saw action in the Peninsular, Antietam, and Chancellorsville campaigns.
June 28 1863
Given his own star as General in the U.S.V.s, he was assigned command of the Michigan cavalry brigade and, with it, took part in the Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, October 1863, and Mine Run campaigns.
Name CUSTER, George Armstrong "Autie", "Fanny", "Curly"
Born December 5 1839, Harrison Co. OH
Died June 25 1876, Little Big Horn MT
Pre-War Profession Teacher, graduated West Point 1861
War Service 1861 Lt., carried despatches at First Bull Run, served on staffs of McClellan and Pleasonton, distinguished himself at Aldie, June 1863 appointed Brig. Gen. of Volunteers in command of 2nd Brig./3rd Div./Cavalry Corps, Gettysburg, Yellow Tavern, commanded 3rd Cavalry Div. in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, Fisher's Hill, Five Forks, cut off the Army of Northern Virginia's last escape route at Appomattox, April 1865 promoted Maj. Gen. of Volunteers.
Brevet Promotions Maj. Gen. U.S.V. October 19 1864, Brig. Gen. U.S.A. March 13 1865, Maj. Gen. U.S.A. April 10 1865.
Post War Career Army service as an Indian fighter, publicist.
Notes
On the Internet George Armstrong Custer
Further reading
Frost, Lawrence A Boy general in bronze: Custer, Michigan's hero on horseback Glendale CA, A.H. Clark Co., 1985
Urwin, Gregory J W Custer Victorious: the Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer Rutherford, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1983
© The Official George Armstrong Custer website by Joseph Topinka, Living History and Civil War Reenacting in Honor of ® George Armstrong Custer
Joe Topinka as George Custer at the battle of Cedar Creek,Va.
Generals Custer and Stuart speak to the public in Gettysburg about the Battle.
Join us the 3rd weekend in August for "Custer VS Stuart" the battle of Hanover,Pa. in downtown Hanover.
Gettysburg.
Pennington's Battery shown Below in the Civil War. They followed Custer's Cavalry and fought in several battles.
"Civil War Cavalry" bugle calls
Call to Arms |
Assembly |
Charge |
Boots & Saddles |
Rally |
Taps |
To Horse |
|
