This is a "pencil" of the
cocky, flamboyant and
brave, golden-haired
George Armstrong Custer.
A general at 23, he was one
of the Unions most
celebrated cavalrymen. By
1865, the time of this
reference photo by Civil War
Photographer Matthew
Brady, he had seen action
in most engagements in
the eastern theater. A
subordinate described
Custer as "the idol, as well
as the ideal of his
men&the foremost cavalry
officer of his time."
With a showdown battle in
Pennsylvania anticipated,
the colorful 23 year-old
George Armstrong Custer
was jumped past most of
his peers and made a
brigadier general by George
G. Meade. After Gettysburg,
Custer fought other battles.
Aside from his Civil War
service, he is best known
for his defeat and death at
the Little Bighorn River on
June 25, 1876. This is a
postwar portrait, since
Custer did not display the
insignia of a major general
until after April 15, 1865.
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