From George Armstrong Custer's graduation from West Point to the daring cavalry charges that propelled him to the rank of General and national fame at age twenty-three to an unlikely romance with his eventual wife Libbie Bacon, Custer's exploits are the stuff of legend. Always leading his men from the front with a personal courage seldom seen before or since, he was a key part of nearly every major engagement in the east. Not only did Custer capture the first battle flag taken by the Union Army and receive the white flag of surrender at Appomattox, but his field generalship at Gettysburg against Confederate cavalry General Jeb Stuart had historic implications in changing the course of that pivotal battle. For decades, historians have looked at Custer strictly through the lens of his death on the frontier, casting him as a failure. While the events that took place at the Little Big Horn are illustrative of America's bloody westward expansion, they have unjustly eclipsed Custer's otherwise extraordinarily life and outstanding career. This biography of thundering cannons, pounding hooves, and stunning successes tells the story of one of history's most dynamic and misunderstood figures. Award-winning historian Thom Hatch reexamines Custer's early career to rebalance the scales and show why Custer's epic fall could never have happened without the spectacular rise that made him an American legend.

In this thrilling narrative history of George Armstrong Custer's death at the Little Bighorn, award-winning historian Thom Hatch puts to rest the questions and conspiracies that have made Custer's last stand one of the most misunderstood events in American history. While numerous historians have investigated the battle, what happened on those plains hundreds of miles from even a whisper of civilization has been obscured by intrigue and deception starting with the very first shots fired. Custer's death and the defeat of the 7th Calvary by the Sioux was a shock to a nation that had come to believe that its westward expansion was a matter of destiny. While the first reports defended Custer, many have come to judge him by this single event, leveling claims of racism, disobedience, and incompetence. These false claims unjustly color Custer's otherwise extraordinarily life and fall far short of encompassing his service to his country. By reexamining the facts and putting Custer within the context of his time and his career as a soldier, Hatch's The Last Days of George Armstrong Custer reveals the untold and controversial truth of what really happened in the valley of the Little Bighorn, making it the definitive history of Custer's last stand. This history of charging cavalry, desperate defenses, and malicious intrigue finally sets the record straight for one of history's most dynamic and misunderstood figures.

"Photographer William Illingworth captured images of great quality and clarity, while at least fifteen men were recording vivid accounts in their diaries, reports and newspaper dispatches. These elements are woven together here ... to form a narrative of day-to-day life on the trail. The earlier book told the story of exploring the Black Hills; here the focus is on the plains portion of the journey, much of which can still be followed across a vast and varied landscape. [This book] also adds a new dimension, recognizing that the explorers of 1874 left yet another kind of record in things they lost or discarded along the way -- tools, weapons, cartridges and horseshoes, utensils and buttons, cans and knives. The representative artifacts in these pages further enrich our experience of the Black Hills Expedition"--Dust jacket.

The classic account of Custer\'s Last Stand that shattered themyth of the Little Bighorn and rewrote history books. This historic and personal work tells the Native American sideof Custer\'s fabled attack, poignantly revealing how disastrous theencounter was for the "victors," the last great gathering of PlainsIndians under the leadership of Sitting Bull.

An accessible and authoritative overview of the scholarship that has shaped our understanding of one of the most iconic battles in the history of the American West Combines contributions from an array of respected scholars, historians, and battlefield scientists Outlines the political and cultural conditions that laid the foundation for the Centennial Campaign and examines how George Armstrong Custer became its figurehead Provides a detailed analysis of the battle maneuverings at Little Bighorn, paying special attention to Indian testimony from the battlefield Concludes with a section examining how the Battle of Little Bighorn has been mythologized and its pervading influence on American culture