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Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a flamboyant figure who first rose to fame during the Civil War. Though his school career at West Point was lackluster, he found himself with a commission during the Civil War largely because of a simple need for officers. His bravery and unexpected success during the Virginia Campaigns and at Gettysburg made him a national figure.
After the war, Custer said his 7th Cavalry were stationed in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, for two years during the Reconstruction Era. Their job was to combat the rising influence of the Ku Klux Klan, while also breaking up illegal "bootleg" distilleries in the area.
It was in 1876, during the Indian Wars, that Custer and many of his troops would meet their end at the Battle of Little Bighorn. His wife, Libby, was instrumental in building his profile and defending his reputation against nearly every detractor for 50 years after his death. |