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George Armstrong Custer was found with a bullet wound to the left temple and a bullet wound in his left breast. he was neither scalped or mutilated. ( reference: son of the morning star by Evan s. connell)

Please note that he was mutilated but not scalped - the official account detail this, although some details were withheld until after the death of his wife.

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Q: What injuries did George Armstrong Custer get before he died?
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Who became youngest American general at age 23?

That would be George Armstrong Custer, graduated last in his class at West Point, and best remembered for his disastrous defeat at the Little Bighorn. He was promoted from captain to Brigadier General of Volunteers 3 days before the Battle of Gettysburg, despite having no direct experience in command.


What was george Pattons life before World War 2 like?

He was an extremely unhappy character. Before WWII, a newspaper states:"George Pattons, doom and gloom for this poor chap."Not many people seem to know this, but his like was extremely different than before.


What did George Washington work as before he joined the Virginia militia?

George Washington was a land surveyor in Culpeper County, Virginia when he was 17. He later purchased land in the Shenandoah Valley.


Who was the American commander in North Africa before Patton?

Dwight Eisenhower replaced Lloyd Fredendall with George Patton


What unit did Custer serve in during the civil war?

Custer was just finishing his third year at the US Military Academy at West Point when the war started in 1861. His entire class of 34 was graduated a year early due to the pressing need for trained officers. Custer was 21 years old, and graduated last in his class (34 out of 34). The brand new 2nd Lieutenant Custer was assigned to the 2nd Cavalry. This regiment is legendary now. It was one of two new mounted units created in the early 1850s to patrol the vast new territory won from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. These were the first new regiments created in the American Army in decades. Promotion in the Army before the Civil War was strictly by seniority. There was no retirement system, so officers stayed on until they died of old age, or else resigned in disgust and became (most often) engineers in private employment. There were no engineering schools at American universities then, so trained (military) engineers were much sought after, especially by the rapidly expanding railroad industry. The slow promotion meant that an officer such as Robert E. Lee was still only a captain in the regular Army, after more than twenty years service, and this despite being considered the best officer in the Army by the Army's Commanding General, Winfield Scott. (Scott had been Commanding General since 1839, and was still on the job when the Civil War started, after 53 years of service, because he could not retire. He was 75 years old, and weighed over 400 pounds when the Civil War began). So, the creation of these new regiments in the early 1850s also created new slots for officers, and the Secretary of War (and later president of the Confederate States of America) Jefferson Davis, himself a West Point graduate and a hero of the Mexican War, used his first-hand knowledge of the officer corp of the small US Army to promote the best officers to the new positions opened up by the creation of these new regiments. There were eight men who became full four star generals in the Confederate Army, and four of them had served in the 2nd Cavalry. Robert E. Lee was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, skipping over the grade of major, and was second in command of the 2nd US Cavalry. All these officers had just resigned and gone south when Custer joined his new regiment, which had been brought east at the start of the war. Custer with his regiment was at the First Battle of Bull Run in late July, 1861, where he spent most of the day carrying messages on horseback. Soon after Bull Run the US Army renumbered its mounted units, of which there were five before the war. There were the First and Second Dragoons, the Regiment of Mounted Rifles, and the most recently created 1st and 2nd Cavalry. All were now redesignated as "cavalry" and they were numbered in order of their creation. So, the 2nd Cavalry became the 5th Cavalry, and that's what it remains today. The 1st, 5th and 7th Cavalry are all part of the 1st US Cavalry Division (Airmobile) based at Fort Hood, Texas, which won great renown in Vietnam. The 7th Cavalry was of course Custer's last unit, at the Little Big Horn. After service with the 2nd/5th Cavalry Custer became a staff officer, on the staff of General George B. McClellan, during the Peninsula Campaign of May-June, 1862. Custer held the temporary ("brevet") rank of captain. (A "brevet" officer wore the insignia of his higher "brevet" rank and commanded at that higher level - but got paid at his lower "permanent" rank). He led four companies of the 4th Michigan Infantry in a successful attack during this campaign, but that was only for that particular day. When McClellan was fired in November 1862 Custer reverted to his permanent rank of 1st Lt. Throughout this period, and the following time, Custer continued on the books of the 5th Cavalry but was on "detached" service. Custer next became a staff officer for General Alfred Pleasonton, who commanded the cavalry division of the Army of the Potomac. Pleasonton obviously thought highly of his brash, glory seeking staff aide. On June 28, 1863, as the armies were maneuvering to Gettysburg, Custer was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers (a brevet rank) and given command of a brigade of cavalry in the cavalry division of Judson Kilpatrick (whose own men called him "Kill Cavalry"). Custer was elevated to this lofty height despite having no command experience and being only 23 years of age. In the newspapers he was usually called "The Boy General". A brigade usually had four or five regiments in it. Custer's Brigade was the "Michigan Brigade", consisting of the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. Custer had spent much of his childhood in Monroe, Michigan. Custer with his brigade was in several cavalry skirmishes in the first few days of his command, then turned in what was his finest performance of the war at Gettysburg, on the last day of the Battle, July 3, 1863. General Lee's plan for that day is still little understood. What Lee intended was that simultaneously with "Pickett's Charge" hitting the Union line from the front, 6000 Rebel cavalry under Jeb Stuart were to circle north of Gettysburg and hook back in and hit the same part of the Union line from the rear. Had this happened, a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would have been the very likely result. But it did not happen, because Stuart and the Confederate cavalry force ran into Custer with his Wolverine Brigade, and Custer stopped them. Where this took place was "East Cavalry Field" a preserved portion of the Gettysburg Battlefield several miles east of town, that hardly anyone ever visits. That was the high point of the war for Custer. Custer was also present at Appomattox, where his brigade was part of the force that got in front of Lee's during the night of April 8/9, and cut Lee off from further efforts to escape. General Longstreet of the Confederate Army related a tale of Custer that day, the day Lee surrendered his Army to Grant. There was a cease-fire between the armies, under a flag of truce, while Lee and Grant were arranging to meet and then meeting to agree to terms. This took some hours. Meanwhile Custer sent in his own flag of truce and met with General Longstreet. At this meeting Custer demanded that Longstreet immediately surrender to Custer, or Custer was going to "pitch in". Longstreet replied coldly that Custer could "pitch in" all he pleased, and Custer went away, his bluff for glory unsuccessful.Custer had a colorful and controversial military career. After the Civil War he was even court-martialed in 1867.Most of Custer's combat duties were served in cavalry units. He remained an active officer from the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 to its end in 1865. The complete history of the higher level officers he reported to is not easy research.He stood among many other young Civil War soldiers for his bravery, but its difficult for this writer to imagine himself leading a cavalry unite into battle at the age of 23. I believe few men could.Prior to combat duties he served under McDowell as a messenger.Custer was part of many Union army campaigns in the Calvary. He served under several Union generals. Among them were:1. McClellan2. Barnard3. Pleasonton, who promoted Custer to the rank of brigadier general at age 23.4. SheridanOther points of interest regarding Custer are:Custer was present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. Reportedly this table was given to him as a gift by Sheridan for his wife. The table now resides at the Smithsonian Institute in Wash. DC.When Grant was appointed by Lincoln to lead the Army of the Potomac, newspapers reported that he graduated last in his class at West Point.Custer reported to Sheridan and Terry in the so called Indian Wars. Sheridan was involved with enforcing President Grant's decree that certain Native American Tribes enter US Government established reservations. Violence ensued when the Native Americans did not obey Grant's commands.

Related questions

How did Custer County Colorado get its name?

It was named to honor George Armstrong Custer who had met his fate a year before the county was formed.


Did George Custer have kids?

no George Custer ended up having gonorrhea before he married his wife.


Who was the chief of the US seventh cavalry?

The answer to your question depends on the time. Many men have commanded the 7th. George S. Patton in WW2 commanded the 7th and George Armstrong Custer commanded the 7th before Little Big Horn.


Why did Custer choose Garry Owen as his regimental song?

go to Google and type: Custer Gary Owen and read anamericansoldie.blogAnswerIt later became the marching tune for the US 7th Cavalry Regiment during the late 1800s. The tune was a favorite of General George Armstrong Custer and became the official air of the Regiment in 1867. According to legend it was the last tune played before the Battle of the Little Bighorn. http://www.answers.com/GarryOwen


Who became youngest American general at age 23?

That would be George Armstrong Custer, graduated last in his class at West Point, and best remembered for his disastrous defeat at the Little Bighorn. He was promoted from captain to Brigadier General of Volunteers 3 days before the Battle of Gettysburg, despite having no direct experience in command.


In William Armstrong's Sounder how long does the father stay in jail before returning because of injury?

In "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong, the father is in jail for one month before he returns home due to injuries he sustains while trying to escape.


Where did Neil Armstrong immigrate before he came to America?

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. He did not immigrate there.


What country was Neil Armstrong in before he went to the moon?

Neil Armstrong was and remains a US citizen.


What is Adrienne Armstrong's last name?

her current last name is Armstrong but before marrying bille joe Armstrong her name was adrienne nesser


Did Libby Bacon Custer have any children by General George Armstrong Custer?

In James Donovan's A Terrible Glory - (Custer and the Little Bighorn) it states that Custer contracted gonorrhea before his marriage to Elizabeth Bacon, also known as Libby. This most likely explains why they had no children.BWWCuster childrenElizabeth Custer never had any children although they wanted some. One theory is that cavalry men such as General Custer, and other men who rode often on horseback, suffered from sperm damage due to the pounding on the testicles from excessive riding. Some of those who hated Custer had told of a child that he had fathered, with a young Cheyenne girl, in 1869. Though, actually, one of my relatives supposedly lived with the Custers for about 6 years. I have nothing to substantiate this, however, except for the "family story". I am looking for something to "say it is true" but have found nothing yet. It was, actually, a half - sister to my grandmother. If anyone has any information regarding this, please email me at Raysenhell123@aol.com. I sure would appreciate it.TX******I was wondering if anyone ever heard of the Custers raising a girl for about 6 years. I am trying to find out if a family story about this is true, and if there was ever anything written about a young girl staying with them, that would be great!!Barb


Who ambushed Custer?

Actually, Custer was not ambushed at Little Big Horn. He purposely attacked a large Lakota/Cheyenne war camp led by Sitting Bull. Custer attacked hastily, against the advice of his scouts, afraid the camp would break apart and run before he could decisively engage them. Sitting Bull was not at the battle where Custer was killed. The ambush was lead by Crazy Horse.


What are Custer rank before he was killed at the battle of little bighorn?

He was a General when he was killed.ANSWER:After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Army dropped Custer to his regular rank of Captain. He joined the Seventh Cavalry in 1866, as a Lieutenant Colonel.When George A. Custer, fought at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, on June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel was the rank he had when he died.