For the Custers, Little Bighorn Was A Family Affair

Americans were in shock exactly 140 years ago today. And it wasn’t supposed to have been that way.

July 1876 was, after all, the nation’s centennial. The little upstart country had beat the odds by bucking the greatest military power on earth, then beat them again by surviving 100 years. It was supposed to have been time for a national party.

Instead, stunning news came from the Black Hills in distant Montana Territory. George Armstrong Custer, dashing Civil War hero and flamboyant Indian fighter, plus all 267 of his men, had been wiped out in a ferocious battle with Native American braves.

The defeat cast a dark shadow over centennial celebrations and launched a legend that lingers nearly a century and a half later.

Custer’s Last Stand. They Died With Their Boots On. The Custer Massacre.

It had been a remarkable ride for Custer up till then. He became the Union Army’s youngest general at age 23 and caught the public’s fancy through glowing newspaper accounts of his personal bravery, his long curly hair (which he scented with cinnamon oil), and even his wartime wedding to a beautiful bride.

But the post-war years hadn’t treated him as well. His commission as major general was a brevet promotion, valid only as long as the Civil War lasted. When the ink dried at Appomattox, the man many people still call “General Custer” dropped three slots to the rank he held the day he died: Lieutenant Colonel. He was twice court-martialed, and although he beat the rap both times, his shining star was tarnished. He had to regain its former luster, and Custer knew that meant scoring another big win on the battlefield.

This time around, the once “Boy General” who had survived having 11 horses shot out from under him and had been lionized for his celebrated “Custer Luck” pushed things too far.

His story ended at age 36 on a lonely Montana hillside the last Sunday morning in June 1876. And his incredibly bad decision to attack an Indian village without properly scouting it in advance (he rode straight into one of the largest Native American war camps ever assembled and was outnumbered 4 to 1) cost the lives of everyone under his immediate command.

Yet few people remember that the Custer family lost much more than George that day. His two younger brothers, brother-in-law and a nephew all died with him. Eclipsed by George’s fame, their stories are worth recalling.

Like many high–ranking military officers of that era, Custer surrounded himself with an adoring, devoted circle of relatives and friends. Folks called them the Custer Clan. They served together, traveled together, partied together and ultimately died together. Their fortunes rose with George’s fortunes, and declined when his did. Come what may, they were in it together and would remain that way right up to the bitter end.

There was Tom Custer, 31, the adoring little brother eager to win big brother’s respect and approval. If George Armstrong (known in this intimate circle by the nickname “Autie,” the childhood mispronunciation of his middle name) hadn’t made the Custer name famous, Tom would have. During the Civil War he received the Medal of Honor not once, but twice … becoming the first of only 16 men in American history to gain that distinction.

At the Little Bighorn, some historians speculate Tom shot gravely wounded George through the head to spare him being tortured as a captive. Tom’s body was found nearby, riddled with arrows.

Then there was Boston Custer, 27, George’s beloved youngest brother. Too young and physically weak to serve in the Civil War, “Bos” viewed his elder brothers with hero worship. George later tried to secure a lieutenant’s commission for him, but failed. Eager to sip from the Custer cup of glory, he tagged along with the 7^th Cavalry Regiment as a civilian contractor. Assigned to a different detachment, when a message arrived at the battle’s outset urgently calling for ammunition, Bos dashed off to his brothers’ side, galloping straight to his own grave. (Ironically, had he stayed where he was he likely would have survived.)

First Lieutenant James Calhoun, 30, was the Custers’ brother-in-law. He met sister Margaret while visiting the family six years earlier and fell head over heels in love. They soon married. “Jimmi” was a charter member of the Custer Clan, as was his own brother-in-law Miles Moylan, who was also in a different part of the Battle of Little Bighorn and survived, going on to receive the Medal of Honor himself the next year.

Finally, Henry “Autie” Reed, 18, was Custer’s favorite nephew. His mother gave him his uncle’s very own nickname, and there was a close bond between the two. Autie had been hired by the 7^th Cavalry the month before as a civilian beef herder. He volunteered his services on the Black Hills Expedition, and his uncles accepted. When the battle began, Autie’s boss told him to stay behind with the supply wagons where he belonged. Autie simply grinned and shouted “You’re just mad because you can’t go!” as he rode off into history.

When the smoke had cleared and the last Indians had left, five family members lay dead and mutilated on Custer Hill. In a few days, news reached Monroe, Michigan, the Custers’ hometown. One can only image the reaction of parents Emmanuel and Marie Custer, and siblings Elizabeth and Nevin, whose asthma and arthritis kept him out of the military. In a single instant, half their family was gone.

The Custer Clan forever vanished. Admired by some, loathed by others, their legacy endures to this day. They also teach us a fundamentally American lesson: if you must lose, that’s the way to do it, with everyone fighting down to the last bullet.

They were in life, and remain in death, the very embodiment of Shakespeare’s famous words in Henry V:

“From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother …”

Did you find this enjoyable? Please continue to join me each week, and I invite you to read Tell it Like Tupper and share your review!

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