Editing George Armstrong Custer (section)

==Post-war options==
[[File:Maj. Gen. G.A. Custer - From photographic negative in Brady's National Portrait Gallery. LCCN2015649855.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mathew Brady]] photograph of Custer. From the Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, [[Library of Congress]]]]
[[File:GenGACuster.jpg|thumb|right|Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, United States Army, 1865]]
[[File:Custer Staghounds.jpg|thumb|Custer and [[Bloody Knife]] (kneeling left), his favorite [[United States Army Indian Scouts|Indian Scout]]. Custer was well-liked by his native scouts, whose company he enjoyed. He often ate with them. A diary entry in May 1876 by Kellogg records, "General Custer visits scouts; much at home amongst them."<ref>Mark Kellogg, "Notes: May 17 to June 9, 1876, of the Little Bighorn Expedition", Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, Volume 9 (1923): p. 215.</ref>]]
[[File:"Our First Grizzly, killed by Gen. Custer and Col. Ludlow." By Illingworth, 1874, during Black Hills expedition - NARA - 519426.jpg|thumb|right|"Our First Grizzly, killed by Gen. Custer and Col. Ludlow." By Illingworth, 1874, during Black Hills expedition (Left to right: Bloody Knife, George Armstrong Custer, Private John Noonan, and Captain William Ludlow)]]
[[File:George Armstrong Custer and wife Fort Lincoln Dakota Territory.jpg|thumb|right|Custer and his wife at [[Fort Abraham Lincoln]], [[Dakota Territory]], 1874]]
[[File:Hunting and camping party of Custer (standing in center) and invited guests. Fort A. Lincoln on the Little Heart River, - NARA - 530885.tif|thumb|upright=1.6|Hunting and camping party near Fort Abraham Lincoln, 1875. An illustration of the variety of uniforms worn by Cavalry Regiments in the west. From left to right: Lt. James Calhoun, Mr. Swett, Capt. Stephen Baker, Boston Custer, Lt. Winfield Scott Edgerly, Miss Watson, Capt. Myles Walter Keogh, Mrs. Maggie Calhoun, Mrs. Elizabeth Custer, Lt. Col. George Custer, Dr. H.O. Paulding, Mrs. Henrietta Smith, Dr. George Edwin Lord, Capt. Thomas Bell Weir, Lt. William Winer Cooke, Lt. R.E. Thompson, Miss ; Wadsworth, another Miss Wadsworth, Capt. Thomas Custer and Lt. Algernon Emery Smith.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barry |first=David Francis |title=The Custer Clan, a hunting party in 1875, seated under tent |url=https://dp.la/item/4da699d78eed3bd9e9c46dd4d45fc32a |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715133751/https://dp.la/item/4da699d78eed3bd9e9c46dd4d45fc32a |archive-date=2022-07-15 |website=Digital Public Library of America}}</ref>]]

On February 1, 1866, Major General Custer mustered out of the U.S. volunteer service and took an extended leave of absence until September 24.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1966*.html|title=George A. Custer • Cullum's Register • 1966|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> During this time he explored several options in New York City,<ref name="utley-38">Utley 2001, p. 38.</ref> where he considered careers in railroads and mining.<ref name="utley-39">Utley 2001, p. 39.</ref> Offered a position (and $10,000 in gold) as adjutant general of the army of [[Benito Juárez]] of Mexico, who was then in a struggle with the Mexican Emperor [[Maximilian I of Mexico|Maximilian I]] (a satellite ruler of French Emperor [[Napoleon III]]), Custer applied for a one-year leave of absence from the U.S. Army, which was endorsed by [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]] and Secretary Stanton. However, Sheridan and Mrs. Custer disapproved, and after his request for leave was opposed by U.S. Secretary of State [[William H. Seward]], who was against having an American officer commanding foreign troops, Custer refused the alternative of resignation from the Army to take the lucrative post.<ref name="utley-39"/><ref>Wert (1996), p. 241.</ref>

Following the death of his father-in-law in May 1866, Custer returned to Monroe, Michigan, where he considered running for Congress. He took part in public discussion over the treatment of the [[Southern United States|American South]] in the aftermath of the Civil War, advocating a policy of moderation.<ref name="utley-39"/> He was named head of the Soldiers and Sailors Union, regarded as a response to the hyper-partisan [[Grand Army of the Republic]] (GAR). Formed in 1866, it was led by Republican activist [[John A. Logan|John Alexander Logan]].

In September 1866, Custer accompanied President [[Andrew Johnson]] on a journey by train known as the "[[Swing Around the Circle]]" to build up public support for Johnson's policies towards the South. Custer denied a charge by the newspapers that Johnson had promised him a colonel's commission in return for his support, but Custer had written to Johnson some weeks before seeking such a commission. Custer and his wife stayed with the president during most of the trip. At one point, Custer confronted a small group of Ohio men who repeatedly jeered Johnson, saying to them: "I was born two miles and a half from here, but I am ashamed of you."<ref name="utley-39-40">Utley 2001, pp. 39–40.</ref>