Editing George Armstrong Custer (section)

==Civil War==
===McClellan and Pleasonton===
[[File:CusterandWashington01.jpg|thumb|Custer with former classmate, friend, and captured Confederate soldier, Lieutenant James Barroll Washington, an aide to [[Joseph E. Johnston|General Johnston]], at Fair Oaks, Virginia, 1862]]
Like the other graduates, Custer was commissioned a [[US Second Lieutenant|second lieutenant]]; he was also assigned to the [[2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)|2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment]] and tasked with drilling volunteers in Washington, D.C. On July 21, 1861, he was with his regiment at the [[First Battle of Bull Run]] during the [[Manassas Campaign]] where Army commander [[Winfield Scott]] detailed him to carry messages to Major General [[Irvin McDowell]]. After the battle, he continued participating in the defense of Washington D.C. until October 1861, when he became ill.<!-- From what? --> He was absent from his unit until February 1862. In March, he participated with the 2nd Cavalry in the [[Peninsula Campaign]] in Virginia until April 4.

On April 5, Custer served in the [[5th Cavalry Regiment]] which participated in the [[Siege of Yorktown (1862)|Siege of Yorktown]] from April 5 to May 4 and was aide to [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[George B. McClellan]]. McClellan was in command of the [[Army of the Potomac]] during the Peninsula Campaign. On May 24, 1862, during pursuit of [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[Joseph E. Johnston]] up the Peninsula, General McClellan and his staff were reconnoitering a potential crossing point on the [[Chickahominy River]], they stopped, and Custer overheard General [[John G. Barnard]] mutter, "I wish I knew how deep it is." Custer dashed forward on his horse out to the middle of the river, turned to the astonished officers, and shouted triumphantly, "McClellan, that's how deep it is, General!"<ref name="tagg"/>

Custer was assigned to lead an attack with four companies of the 4th Michigan Infantry across the Chickahominy River above New Bridge. The attack was successful, resulting in the capture of 50 Confederate soldiers and the seizing of the first Confederate battle flag of the war. McClellan termed it a "very gallant affair" and congratulated Custer personally. In his role as aide-de-camp to McClellan, he began his life-long pursuit of publicity.<ref name="tagg">Tagg, Larry. (1988). ''The Generals Of Gettysburg: Appraisal Of The Leaders Of America's Greatest Battle''. Savas Publishing Company, {{ISBN|1-882810-30-9}}, p. 184.</ref> He was promoted to the rank of [[Captain (Union Army)|captain]] on June 5, 1862. On July 17, he was demoted to the rank of [[First Lieutenant]]. He participated in the [[Maryland Campaign]] in September to October, the [[Battle of South Mountain]] on September 14, the [[Battle of Antietam]] on September 17, and the March to [[Warrenton, Virginia]], in October.

[[File:Lincoln and generals at Antietam.jpg|thumb|Custer (extreme right) with [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]], General McClellan and other officers at the [[Battle of Antietam]], 1862]]

On June 9, 1863, he became aide to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel [[Alfred Pleasonton]], who was commanding the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. Recalling his service under Pleasonton, he was quoted as saying that "I do not believe a father could love his son more than General Pleasonton loves me."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer|last=Urwin|first=Gregory J. W|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=1983|isbn=0803295561|pages=[https://archive.org/details/custervictorious00urwi/page/41 41]|url=https://archive.org/details/custervictorious00urwi/page/41}}</ref> Pleasonton's first assignment was to locate the army of [[Robert E. Lee]], moving north through the [[Shenandoah Valley]] in the beginning of what was to become the [[Gettysburg Campaign]].

===Brigade command===
[[File:Custer-Pleasonton.jpg|thumb|Custer (left) with [[Alfred Pleasonton|General Pleasonton]] on horseback in [[Falmouth, Virginia]], 1863]]
[[File:Custer&Pleasonton1863.jpg|thumb|Custer (left) with Alfred Pleasonton in autumn 1863]]
Pleasonton was promoted on June 22, 1863, to major general of U.S. Volunteers. On June 29, after consulting with the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, [[George Meade]], Pleasanton began replacing political generals with "commanders who were prepared to fight, to personally lead mounted attacks".<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003), pp. 117- 118.</ref> He found just the kind of aggressive fighters he wanted in three of his aides: [[Wesley Merritt]], [[Elon J. Farnsworth]] (both of whom had command experience), and Custer. All received immediate promotions, Custer to brigadier general of volunteers,<ref>{{cite web|title=Custer and the Civil War|date=March 21, 2018|url=https://ultimateflags.com/blog/custer-and-the-civil-war/|access-date=June 18, 2021}}</ref> commanding the [[Michigan Brigade|Michigan Cavalry Brigade]] ("Wolverines"), part of the division of Brigadier General [[Judson Kilpatrick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/lt-col-george-armstrong-custer.htm|title=Lt Col George Armstrong Custer – Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> Despite having no direct command experience, he became one of the youngest generals in the [[Union Army]] at the age of 23. He immediately shaped his brigade to reflect his aggressive character. 
 
Now a general officer, he had greater latitude in choosing his uniform. Though often criticized as being gaudy, it was more than personal vanity. Historian Tom Carhart observed that "A showy uniform for Custer was one of command presence on the battlefield: he wanted to be readily distinguishable at first glance from all other soldiers. He intended to lead from the front, and to him it was a crucial issue of unit morale that his men be able to look up in the middle of a charge, or at any other time on the battlefield, and instantly see him leading the way into danger."<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003), p. 119.</ref>

===Hanover and Abbottstown===
On June 30, 1863, Custer and the First and Seventh Michigan Cavalry had just passed through [[Hanover, Pennsylvania]], while the Fifth and Sixth Michigan Cavalry followed about seven miles behind. Hearing gunfire, he turned and started off to the sound of the guns. A courier reported that Farnsworth's Brigade had been attacked by rebel cavalry from side streets in the town. Reassembling his command, he received orders from Kilpatrick to engage the enemy northeast of town near the railway station. Custer deployed his troops and began to advance. After a brief firefight, the rebels withdrew to the northeast. This seemed odd, since it was assumed that Lee and his army were somewhere to the west. Though seemingly of little consequence, this skirmish further delayed Stuart from joining Lee. As Captain James H. Kidd, commander of F troop, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, later wrote: "Under [Custer's] skillful hand the four regiments were soon welded into a cohesive unit...."<ref>James Harvey Kidd, ''Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman With Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War''. (Ionia, MI:The Sentinel Press, 1908), pp. 132–133.</ref>

Next morning, July 1, they passed through [[Abbottstown, Pennsylvania]], still searching for Stuart's cavalry. Late in the morning they heard sounds of gunfire from the direction of Gettysburg. That night at [[Heidlersburg, Pennsylvania]], they learned that General [[John Buford]]'s cavalry had found Lee's army at Gettysburg. The next morning, July 2, orders came for Custer to hurry north to disrupt General [[Richard S. Ewell]]'s communications and relieve the pressure on the Union forces. By midafternoon, as they approached [[Hunterstown, Pennsylvania]], they encountered Stuart's cavalry.<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003), pp. 126–127.</ref> Custer rode ahead alone to investigate and found that the rebels were unaware of the arrival of his troops.

Returning to his men, he carefully positioned them along both sides of the road where they would be hidden from the rebels. Further along the road, behind a low rise, he positioned the First and Fifth Michigan Cavalry and his artillery, under the command of Lieutenant [[Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington Jr.]] To bait his trap, he gathered A Troop, Sixth Michigan Cavalry, and called out, "Come on boys, I'll lead you this time!" and galloped directly at the unsuspecting rebels. As he had expected, the rebels, "more than two hundred horsemen, came racing down the country road" after Custer and his men.

He lost half of his men in the deadly rebel fire and his horse went down, leaving him on foot.<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003, pp. 132–133.</ref> He was rescued by Private Norvell Francis Churchill of the [[1st Michigan Cavalry]], who galloped up, shot Custer's nearest assailant, and pulled Custer up behind him.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Connell|first1=Mike|title=Custer and the Man Who Saved im|url=http://archive.thetimesherald.com/article/20111009/OPINION02/110090313/Custer-man-who-saved-him|website=The Times Herald|access-date=June 10, 2015}}</ref> Custer and his remaining men reached safety, while the pursuing rebels were cut down by slashing rifle fire, then [[Canister shot|canister]] from six cannons. The rebels broke off their attack, and both sides withdrew.

Spending most of the night in the saddle, Custer's brigade arrived at [[Two Taverns, Pennsylvania]], roughly five miles southeast of Gettysburg around 3:00&nbsp;a.m. on July 3. There he was joined by Farnsworth's brigade. By daybreak they received orders to protect Meade's flanks. At this point, he was about to experience perhaps his finest hours during the war.

===Gettysburg===
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[[Robert E. Lee|Lee]]'s battle plan, shared with less than a handful of subordinates, was to defeat [[George Meade|Meade]] through a combined assault using all of his resources. General [[James Longstreet]] would attack [[Cemetery Hill]] from the west, [[J.E.B. Stuart|Stuart]] would attack [[Culp's Hill]] from the southeast, and [[Richard S. Ewell|Ewell]] would attack Culp's Hill from the north. Once the Union forces holding Culp's Hill had collapsed, the rebels would "roll up" the remaining Union defenses on [[Cemetery Ridge]]. To accomplish this, he sent Stuart with six thousand cavalrymen and mounted infantry on a long flanking maneuver.<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003), pp. 158–161.</ref>

By mid-morning on July 3, Custer had arrived at the intersection of Old Dutch Road and Hanover Road, two miles east of Gettysburg. He was later joined by Brigadier General [[David McMurtrie Gregg]], who had him deploy his men at the northeast corner. Custer then sent out scouts to investigate nearby wooded areas. Meanwhile, Gregg had positioned Colonel [[John Baillie McIntosh]]'s brigade near the intersection and sent the rest of his command to do picket duty two miles to the southwest. After additional deployments, 2,400 cavalry under McIntosh and 1,200 under Custer remained together with Colonel [[Alexander Cummings McWhorter Pennington Jr.]]'s and Captain [[Alanson Merwin Randol]]'s artillery, who had a total of ten three-inch guns.

About noon, Custer's men heard cannon fire, Stuart's signal to Lee that he was in position and had not been detected. About the same time, Gregg received a message warning that a large body of rebel cavalry had moved out on the York Pike and might be trying to get around the Union right. A second message from Pleasonton ordered Gregg to send Custer to cover the Union far left. Since Gregg had already sent most of his force off to do other duties, it was clear to both Gregg and Custer that Custer must remain. They had about 2,700 men facing 6,000 Confederates.

Soon afterward, fighting broke out between the skirmish lines. Stuart ordered an attack by his mounted infantry under General [[Albert G. Jenkins]], but the Union line held, with men from the First Michigan cavalry, the [[1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry|First New Jersey Cavalry]], and the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry. Stuart ordered Jackson's four gun battery into action; Custer ordered Pennington to answer. After a brief exchange in which two of Jackson's guns were destroyed, there was a lull in the action.

About one o'clock, the massive Confederate artillery barrage began in support of the upcoming assault on Cemetery Ridge. Jenkins's men renewed the attack, but soon ran out of ammunition and fell back. Resupplied, they again pressed the attack. Outnumbered, the Union cavalry fell back, firing as they went. Custer sent most of his Fifth Michigan cavalry ahead on foot, forcing Jenkins's men to fall back. Jenkins's men were reinforced by about 150 sharpshooters from General [[Fitzhugh Lee]]'s brigade, and shortly Stuart ordered a mounted charge by the Ninth Virginia Cavalry and the Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry. Now it was Custer's men who were running out of ammunition. The Fifth Michigan was forced back and the battle was reduced to vicious, hand-to-hand combat.

Seeing this, Custer mounted a counterattack. Riding ahead of the fewer than 400 new troopers of the Seventh Michigan Cavalry, he shouted, "Come on, you Wolverines!" As he swept forward, he formed a line of squadrons five ranks deep – five rows of eighty horsemen side by side – chasing the retreating rebels until their charge was stopped by a wood rail fence. The horses and men became jammed into a solid mass and were soon attacked on their left flank by the dismounted Ninth and Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry and on the right flank by the mounted First Virginia Cavalry. Custer extricated his men and raced south to the protection of Pennington's artillery near Hanover Road. The pursuing Confederates were cut down by canister, then driven back by the remounted Fifth Michigan Cavalry. Both forces withdrew to a safe distance to regroup.

It was then about three o'clock. The artillery barrage to the west had suddenly stopped. Union soldiers were surprised to see Stuart's entire force about a half-mile away coming toward them, not in line of battle, but "formed in close column of squadrons... A grander spectacle than their advance has rarely been beheld".<ref>William E. Miller, "The Cavalry Battle near Gettysburg". ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', Vol. 3, p. 402.</ref> Stuart recognized he now had little time to reach and attack the Union rear along Cemetery Ridge; he must make one last effort to break through the Union cavalry.

Stuart passed by McIntosh's cavalry – the First New Jersey, Third Pennsylvania, and Company A of Purnell's Legion, which had been posted about halfway down the field – with relative ease. As Stuart approached, the Union troops were ordered back into the woods without slowing down Stuart's column, which was "advancing as if in review, with sabers drawn and glistening like silver in the bright sunlight...."<ref>William Brooke-Rawle, The Right flank at Gettysburg". (Philadelphia: McLaughlin Brothers, 1878), p. 20.</ref>

Stuart's last obstacle was Custer and his 400 veteran troopers of the First Michigan Cavalry directly in the Confederate cavalry's path. Outnumbered but undaunted, Custer rode to the head of the regiment, "drew his saber, threw off his hat so they could see his long yellow hair" and shouted... "Come on, you Wolverines!"<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003, p. 235.</ref> Custer formed his men in line of battle and charged. "So sudden was the collision that many of the horses were turned end over end and crushed their riders beneath them...."<ref>William E. Miller, "The Cavalry Battle near Gettysburg". ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', Vol. 3, p. 404.</ref>

As the Confederate advance stopped, their right flank was struck by troopers of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Michigan. McIntosh was able to gather some of his men from the First New Jersey and Third Pennsylvania and charged the rebel left flank. "Seeing that the situation was becoming critical, I [Captain Miller] turned to [Lieutenant Brooke-Rawle] and said: 'I have been ordered to hold this position, but, if you will back me up in case I am court-martialed for disobedience, I will order a charge.'"<ref>William E. Miller, "The Cavalry Battle near Gettysburg". ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War'', Vol. 3, pp. 404–405.</ref> The rebel column disintegrated, and individual troopers fought with saber and pistol.

Within twenty minutes the combatants heard the sound of the Union artillery opening up on Pickett's men. Stuart knew that whatever chance he had of joining the Confederate assault was gone. He withdrew his men to Cress Ridge.<ref>Tom Carhart, ''Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why It Failed''. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons, 2003), p. 240.</ref> 
 
Custer's brigade lost 257 men at Gettysburg; the highest loss of any Union cavalry brigade.<ref>Larry Tagg, The Generals Of Gettysburg: Appraisal Of The Leaders Of America's Greatest Battle. Boston, MA: Da Capo Press,2008, p. 185.</ref> "I challenge the annals of warfare to produce a more brilliant or successful charge of cavalry", Custer wrote in his report.<ref>James S. Robbins, Last in their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point. (New York, NY: Encounter Books, 2006), p. 268.</ref> "For Gallant And Meritorious Services", he was awarded a Regular Army brevet promotion to major.

===Shenandoah Valley and Appomattox Court House===
General Custer also participated in Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. In this campaign, the civilian population was specifically targeted in what is known as ''the Burning''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Burning: Sheridan's Devastation of the Shenandoah Valley|date=1998|publisher=Rockbridge Publishing|isbn=9781883522186|edition=1st|location=Charlottesville, VA|language=en|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781883522186}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmlifV06RsMC&q=custer+shenandoah&pg=PA134|title=The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864|isbn=9780807877111|last1=Gallagher|first1=Gary W|date=December 15, 2006|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/cebe/learn/historyculture/the-burning.htm|title = The Burning - Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)}}</ref>

In 1864, with the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac reorganized under the command of Major General [[Philip Sheridan]], Custer (now commanding the 3rd Division) led his "Wolverines" to the Shenandoah Valley where by the year's end they defeated the army of [[Lt. Gen. (CSA)|Confederate Lieutenant General]] [[Jubal Early]] in the [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]]. During May and June, Sheridan and Custer (Captain, 5th Cavalry, May 8 and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, May 11) took part in cavalry actions supporting the [[Overland Campaign]], including the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] (after which Custer ascended to [[division (military)|division]] command), and the [[Battle of Yellow Tavern]] (where [[J.E.B. Stuart]] was mortally wounded).

In the largest all-cavalry engagement of the war, the [[Battle of Trevilian Station]], in which Sheridan sought to destroy the [[Virginia Central Railroad]] and the Confederates' western resupply route, Custer captured [[Wade Hampton III|Hampton's]] divisional train, but was then cut off and suffered heavy losses (including having his division's trains overrun and his personal baggage captured by the enemy) before being relieved. When Lieutenant General Early was ordered to move down the Shenandoah Valley and threaten Washington, D.C., Custer's division was again dispatched under Sheridan. In the [[Valley Campaigns of 1864]], they pursued the Confederates at the [[Battle of Opequon|Third Battle of Winchester]] and effectively destroyed Early's army during Sheridan's [[Battle of Cedar Creek|counterattack at Cedar Creek]].

Sheridan and Custer, having defeated Early, returned to the main Union Army lines at the [[Siege of Petersburg]], where they spent the winter. In April 1865, the Confederate lines finally broke and Robert E. Lee began his [[Appomattox Campaign|retreat]] to [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]], pursued by the Union cavalry. Custer distinguished himself by his actions at [[Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia|Waynesboro]], [[Battle of Dinwiddie Court House|Dinwiddie Court House]], and [[Battle of Five Forks|Five Forks]]. His division blocked Lee's retreat on its final day and received the first flag of truce from the Confederate force.

After a truce was arranged, Custer was escorted through the lines to meet Longstreet, who described Custer as having flaxen locks flowing over his shoulders, and Custer said "in the name of General Sheridan I demand the unconditional surrender of this army." Longstreet replied that he was not in command of the army, but if he was, he would not deal with messages from Sheridan. Custer responded it would be a pity to have more blood upon the field, to which Longstreet suggested the truce be respected, and then added "General Lee has gone to meet General Grant, and it is for them to determine the future of the armies."<ref>Longstreet, p.627.</ref>

Custer was present at the surrender at Appomattox Court House and the table upon which the surrender was signed was presented to him as a gift for his wife by Sheridan, who included a note praising Custer's gallantry. She treasured the gift of the historic table, which is now in the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref>Wert, p. 225.</ref> On April 15, 1865, Custer was promoted to major general in the U.S. Volunteers, making him the youngest major general in the Union Army at age 25.

On April 25, after the war officially ended, Custer had his men search for and illegally seize a large, prize racehorse named "Don Juan" near Clarksville, Virginia, worth an estimated $10,000 (several hundred thousand today), along with his written pedigree. Custer rode Don Juan in the grand review victory parade in Washington, D.C., on May 23, creating a sensation when the scared thoroughbred bolted. The owner, Richard Gaines, wrote to General Grant, who ordered Custer to return the horse to Gaines, but he did not. Instead, he hid the horse and won a race with it the next year, before the horse suddenly died.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-custer-stole-thoroughbred-180956961/ |title=That Time When Custer Stole a Horse |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |date=November 2015 |access-date=July 26, 2016 }}</ref>