George Armstrong Custer

Notable people · Military

George Armstrong Custer

Harrison County-born Union cavalry general killed with five companies of the 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Born December 5, 1839, New Rumley
Died June 25, 1876, Little Bighorn, Montana Territory

Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born: December 5, 1839, New Rumley (Harrison County) source
Died: June 25, 1876, Little Bighorn, Montana Territory source
Buried: West Point Cemetery, West Point (reinterred from the Little Bighorn battlefield) source
Also known as: Autie, Boy General
Education: McNeely Normal School, Hopedale, OH
: US Military Academy, West Point, NY, 1857-1861, graduate, last in class
Known as: Military
Organizations: Ohio History Connection

Life story

George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, in 1839, the son of a blacksmith. He spent part of his boyhood with a half-sister in Monroe, Michigan, where he went to school.

Wikipedia says he attended McNeely Normal School in Hopedale, Ohio, and taught school in Cadiz. That corrects the older note that the Hopedale link was unverified. He entered West Point in 1857 and graduated last in his class in 1861 with a huge demerit record.

In the Civil War he was promoted to brigadier general at 23, led the Michigan Cavalry Brigade at Gettysburg, and fought at Cedar Creek and Appomattox. He married Elizabeth Bacon in 1864.

After the war he fought on the Plains, including Washita in 1868. On June 25, 1876, he and the men with him were killed at the Little Bighorn in Montana. He is buried at West Point.

Ohio ties

New Rumley (1839-1850s)
birthplace and childhood home Harrison County · source
North Township (1850)
listed with his family in the 1850 U.S. census Harrison County · source
Hopedale (McNeely Normal School) (1855-1856)
student; carried coal to pay room and board; graduated 1856 Harrison County · source
Cadiz (1856-1857)
schoolteacher boarding with the Holland family Harrison County · source

Timeline

1839 Born December 5 in New Rumley to Emanuel Henry Custer and Maria Ward Kirkpatrick. source
1845 His brother Thomas Custer, later a two-time Medal of Honor recipient, was born in New Rumley on March 15. source
1856 Graduated from the McNeely Normal School in Hopedale and began teaching in Cadiz. source
1857 Congressman John A. Bingham wrote to confirm Custer's acceptance of a West Point appointment; Custer was photographed in Cadiz that June at about 17. source
1876 Killed at the Little Bighorn on June 25 with his brothers Tom and Boston. source
1931 The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society erected a bronze statue of Custer on his New Rumley birthplace site. source

What George is known for

Union cavalry general
Commanded at Little Bighorn 1876 (killed with his command)

Stories

A Democrat's son and a Republican congressman

Custer graduated from the normal school in Hopedale in 1856 and took a teaching job in Cadiz, boarding with the Holland family and falling for their daughter, Mary Jane. Seeing little future as an Ohio schoolteacher, the 17-year-old asked his congressman, John A. Bingham, for a West Point nomination. His father was a staunch Democrat and Bingham a Republican, and Custer had no family connections. Historian Nathaniel Philbrick suggests the Holland father did what he could to get the young teacher sent far away. Bingham wrote back to confirm Custer's acceptance and told him to report for the entrance examinations, wishing him success through life.

Source

Honors and things named for them

Brevet major general; major general of US Volunteers 1865

Named for George Armstrong Custer

Custar (village) (Milton Township, Wood County) source

Family

wife: Elizabeth Bacon Custer
brother: Thomas Custer
brother: Boston Custer

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments.

Custer Monument and birthplace site
New Rumley (41209 Rumley Rd. East, along SR 646) Harrison County · source

Places in Ohio to see

Custer Monument (statue)
New Rumley, Harrison County Harrison County

Ohio places

Where George Armstrong Custer was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Born: New Rumley, Harrison County (Custer Monument / birthplace site, 41875 Rumley Rd E (per a search listing, not an opened page)) Harrison County
School: Hopedale, Harrison County (Hopedale Normal School (student; unverified)) ZIP 43976 · Hopedale · Harrison County

Myths and corrections

Things often said about George Armstrong Custer, and what the record shows.

Often said Custer was the youngest general in the Union Army.

The record He was one of the youngest Union generals, a brigadier at 23, and the youngest major general at 25; "youngest general" overall is an overstatement. source

Often said He named himself "Autie" as a toddler.

The record Clio says he reportedly gave himself the nickname because he could not pronounce his name; Wikipedia says only that his father called him Autie. The origin is not documented. source

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

Public domain
17-year-old George Armstrong Custer
Public domain
George Armstrong Custer in North Township, Ohio with his parents.
Public domain
George Armstrong Custer in the 1870 US Census
Public domain
July 6, 1876 newspaper article in The Helena Independent (newspaper in Helena, Montana, U.S.) describing the J...
Public domain
A July 6, 1876 article in The New York Times reporting the massacre of the troops of w:George Armstrong Custer...
Public domain
Public domain
No known restrictions
Title: Advance of Custer's brigade Abstract/medium: 1 drawing on blue paper : pencil ; 16.1 x 35.4 cm. (sheet)...
Public domain
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch Romanov and General Custer in Topeka, at the end of the buffalo hunt.
Public domain
Union Leaders of the Civil War Identifier: angelsofbattlefi00bart (find matches) Title: Angels of the battlefi...
No known restrictions
Title: April 6. Custer ready for his 3rd charge at Sailors Creek 1865 Abstract/medium: 1 drawing on tan paper ...
Public domain