Custer
Little Bighorn casualty
Custer refers to George Armstrong Custer (1839–1876), the U.S.
Army officer famous for his catastrophic defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where he and his entire command were killed by Lakota and Cheyenne warriors.
A Custer's last stand is any doomed final effort against overwhelming odds.
To pull a Custer is to lead others into disaster through recklessness or hubris.
1876 Montana battle site
- defeatVictory over another
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- Sitting BullLakota spiritual leader
- Crazy HorseLakota war leader
Sioux · Lakota · Cheyenne · Montana · encampment · warriors · ambush · resistance
Mounted military force
- generalWidespread, not specialized
- brevetHonorary military rank
- commanderPerson with authority over others
- officerAuthority figure in uniform
Civil War · Shenandoah · Appomattox · Union · West Point · regiment · saber · charge
Causing public dispute
- divisiveCausing sharp disagreement
- debatedFormally argued opposing views
- revisionistOne who alters accepted narratives
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
folklore · hero · villain · hubris · arrogance · reckless · infamous · notorious
Historic frontier territory
- Indian WarsColonial-era indigenous conflicts
- plainsBroad, level grasslands
- expansionIncrease in scope
- gold rushMass migration seeking ore
Black Hills · settlers · Manifest Destiny · buffalo · Native Americans · treaties · reservations · westward
Little Bighorn
1876 Montana battle site
- defeatVictory over another
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- Sitting BullLakota spiritual leader
Crazy Horse · Sioux · Lakota · Cheyenne · Montana · encampment · warriors · ambush · resistance · cavalry charge
cavalry
Mounted military force
- generalWidespread, not specialized
- brevetHonorary military rank
- commanderPerson with authority over others
officer · Civil War · Shenandoah · Appomattox · Union · West Point · regiment · saber · charge · horseback
controversial
Causing public dispute
- divisiveCausing sharp disagreement
- debatedFormally argued opposing views
- revisionistOne who alters accepted narratives
mythology · folklore · hero · villain · hubris · arrogance · reckless · infamous · notorious · monument
American West
Historic frontier territory
- Indian WarsColonial-era indigenous conflicts
- plainsBroad, level grasslands
- expansionIncrease in scope
gold rush · Black Hills · settlers · Manifest Destiny · buffalo · Native Americans · treaties · reservations · westward · exploration
Elizabeth
Feminine given name
genealogy · ancestry · lineage · heritage · descendants · relatives · letters · memoirs
- 1800s AmericaOregon Trail, Trail of Tears, transcontinental railroad, Civil War, Abraham Lincoln
- 1800s FiguresDarwin, Marx, Dickens, Beethoven, Napoleon
- Famous FiguresAbraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Napoleon
- U.S. GeneralsEisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, Grant, Lee
- Frontier WarsIndian Wars, French and Indian War, cavalry charge, militia, militias
- Little BighornCrazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Sioux, Cheyenne, Lakota
CusterSitting Bull
Lakota spiritual leader
Crazy Horse · victor · winner · Ulysses S. Grant · Dwight D. Eisenhower
CusterSitting Bull
Lakota spiritual leader
Crazy Horse · Red Cloud · Chief Joseph · Tecumseh · Cochise
Custerstrategic genius
Exceptional planner of complex moves
victor · George Washington · Ulysses S. Grant · Sun Tzu · tactical genius
- Custer's Last StandInfamous 1876 military defeat
- George Custer