Custer's Last Stand
The Battle of the Greasy Grass
George Custer was a flamboyant combat leader
whose ignominious gory demise overshadowed his
legitimately extensive battlefield accomplishments.
Will Dabbs graciously offered to write this honorary Shooting Iron story in memory of the late Mike “Duke” Venturino. As long-time readers will know, Duke was passionate about this particular slice of history and a visit to the site was arguably one of his life’s most impactful field trips. Rest in peace, Duke. —TM
History is a filter through which humanity is sifted. Practitioners of the art relate events of import as cleanly as they are able yet habitually leave a bit of themselves in the telling. I do this inadvertently myself. The end result is invariably tainted.
The real problem is that we are not ourselves unbiased consumers of history. We tend to view historical figures in a binary light. Mother Theresa and Teddy Roosevelt were pretty good. Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer, not so much. Reality, however, is seldom quite so tidy.
Paul’s letter to the Romans claims that all have sinned. That’s not just a good idea; that’s the law. In the real world, Mother Theresa quite likely struggled with covetousness, while Hitler undoubtedly loved his dog. Life can be cluttered at times.
In the person of George Armstrong Custer, we see a man who defies ready characterization. Your typical 7th-grade history student might observe that his flowing gold locks and carefully crafted public persona spoke of vanity, while his legendary overconfidence on the battlefield ultimately cost him dearly. Reality was more nuanced.
Smarter folks than I have already spilt rivers of ink on the Battle of the Little Bighorn. My goal is not to reinvent the wheel. I shall rather endeavor to offer some intimate insights that might flesh out the tale a bit. Custer, Benteen, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, et al. were simply human. Each man had strengths and flaws, all of which synergistically culminated in some 31 dead native Americans, 268 cavalry KIA, and a sea change in the horrific centuries-long war against the American Indians.
Libbie and George Custer relaxing in their home. It is insightful that
his walls are adorned with a large photo of himself and he has an
extensive collection of firearms within easy reach in the corner.
Details
History tells us that Custer was perhaps a bit dim. However, the record does not really bear that out. Custer graduated 34th out of 108 in his West Point class. He was promoted to Brigadier General at age 23. I wouldn’t trust today’s typical 23-year-old American male unsupervised with glue paste, much less the command of a brigade of infantry in combat. However, Custer led his merry mob of Michigan men into battle at Gettysburg mere days after they met, defeating J. E. B. Stuart at East Cavalry Field. In the annals of military accomplishment, beating J. E. B. Stuart was no mean feat.
Custer served with distinction through the Overland Campaign and bested Jubal Early at Cedar Creek. He watched Lee sign the instrument of surrender at Appomattox. With this epic bloodletting finally cauterized, Custer took a practical demotion from Major General to Lieutenant Colonel and headed west to fight Indians.
For George Custer, war was a family affair. Counted among his troops were two of his brothers, a brother-in-law and a nephew. The entire Custer mob present for the festivities at Little Bighorn subsequently met Jesus face-to-face alongside five of the 7th Cavalry’s 12 companies.
Part of Custer’s subsequent legend came not from the man but rather from his energetic widow. Americans are a proud people, and we do not well tolerate the unfettered slaughter of our troops in battle. The public demanded a villain, and Custer’s name came up in conversation. However, George’s widow Libbie invested the next 60 years tirelessly advocating for her dead husband’s awesomeness. Some of that actually took.
History has glamorized the wars against the Plains Indians.
In reality they were quite ghastly for all involved.
The Fight
We know it as The Battle of the Little Bighorn or, more colloquially, Custer’s Last Stand. The Americans on the other side called it the Battle of the Greasy Grass. In one corner, you had the combined forces of the Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and the Lakota Sioux, numbering between 1,100 and 2,500 armed military-age males. Opposing them were roughly 700 cavalrymen and sympathetic Indian scouts. Archaeological evidence has demonstrated that no one on either side was really in tip-top physical condition. Life on the plains was hard on one and all.
Briefly, Custer split his forces based upon inadequate intelligence that woefully underestimated the number, quality, and cohesion of his enemy. Indian warriors subsequently overwhelmed and annihilated the Army troops. The details of Custer’s last moments are little more than conjecture, as none of his comrades survived. He was found shot through the chest and head. Some have postulated that he might have done part of that himself to avoid capture. However, he was right-handed, and the head wound was administered from the left.
The 1873 Colt Single Action Army Cavalry Model was a thing of undeniable martial beauty. Image: Rock Island Auctions
The Guns
For gun nerds such as ourselves, one firearm is inextricably linked to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. That is the 7.5″ Model 1873 Single Action Army. Most of Custer’s Cav troopers packed these magnificent Colt wheelguns alongside Springfield trapdoor carbines. Custer himself was rumored to have wielded a .50-caliber Remington sporting rifle to complement a brace of privately purchased revolvers. These guns were most likely double-action .442-caliber British Webleys with white grips of some flavor. The details have been lost in the seas of time.
Colonel Sam Colt purportedly had the idea after being inspired by the capstan on the oceangoing brig Corvo when he was but a lad. He crafted a wooden model during that very voyage that eventually evolved into the most beautiful handgun ever crafted by mankind. The .45LC 1873 cavalry model sported a distinctive 7.5″ barrel. Running a vintage example today is akin to the French kissing an angel.
Contrary to myth, Cadet Custer actually did quite well at West Point.
His classmates called him Autie.
George Armstrong Custer cut a fairly dashing figure.
Ruminations
Word monkeys like me typically specialize to a degree. My particular niche is WWII machine guns. Everything else can potentially be a bit of a rough fit. As an example, I have only shot beyond a kilometer three times. I enjoyed the experience but did not set any records. In this case, the recognized master of this genre was the legendary Duke Venturino. I penned this piece in tribute to him.
To turn a tired phrase, Duke had forgotten more about the Colt Single Action Army and the Battle of the Greasy Grass than I will ever know. His passing leaves a void in these hallowed pages that will never be adequately filled. His body of entertaining scholarship in the field of classic wheelguns is peerless.
You read a guy’s work long enough, and you start to feel like you know him. You catch oblique references to his family, gun collection and proclivities that all synergistically paint a picture of a man’s character. That’s the nature of the craft. For his part, Duke Venturino was a genuinely nice guy, admired and respected by one and all. Though I never had the privilege of getting to know him well, I certainly admired his work. Consider this piece on Custer, the Little Bighorn and the classic single-action Colt revolver my eulogy to him. Happy trails, brother.
