The Real Custer: From Boy General to Tragic Hero

by James S. Robbins

Overview

The Real Custer takes a good hard look at the life and storied military career of George Armstrong Custer—from cutting his teeth at Bull Run in the Civil War, to his famous and untimely death at Little Bighorn in the Indian Wars.

Author James Robbins demonstrates that Custer, having graduated last in his class at West Point, went on to prove himself again and again as an extremely skilled cavalry leader. Robbins argues that Custer's undoing was his bold and cocky attitude, which caused the Army's bloodiest defeat in the Indian Wars.

Robbins also dives into Custer’s personal life, exploring his letters and other personal documents to reveal who he was as a person, underneath the military leader. The Real Custer is an exciting and valuable contribution to the legend and history of Custer that will delight Custer fans as well as readers new to the legend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621573715
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	03/23/2015
Series:	Civil War Collection
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	494
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

The list of Regnery authors reads like a "who's who" of conservative thought, action, and history.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 Beginnings

1 "My Voice Is for War!" 1

2 Custer the Goat 11

3 The Brotherhood Broken 27

Part 2 Custer Goes to War

4 "A Slim, Long-Haired Boy, Carelessly Dressed" 47

5 "I Promise That You Shall Hear of Me" 59

6 "Conspicuous Gallantry' 65

Part 3 The Boy General

7 Gettysburg 77

8 The "Daring, Terrible Demon" of Battle 89

9 The Buckland Races 99

10 The Dahlgren Affair 111

11 Little Phil 125

12 Into the Valley 139

13 "Let the Sword Decide the Contest" 153

14 Custer's Counterinsurgency 165

15 "Custer Is a Trump" 179

16 "Fighting like a Viking" 187

17 "Custer against the World" 195

18 "Like the Charge of a Sioux Chieftain" 211

Part 4 Fall from Grace

19 The "Long-Haired Hero of the Lash" 223

20 The "Swing around the Circle" 239

21 Court-Martial 255

Part 5 Redemption

22 Washita 275

23 Custer on the Plains 297

24 The Great Buffalo Hunt 311

25 Battle on the Yellowstone 323

Part 6 The Final Act

26 Custer's Gulch 337

27 Grant's Revenge 353

28 "Don't Be Greedy" 369

29 A Ridge Too Far 379

30 "He Will Never Fight Anymore" 391

Conclusion 405

A Note on Sources 419

Notes 421

Index 483

Editorial Reviews

05/05/2014
Here’s another Custer biography, purportedly of the “real” man, as if other writers haven’t tried to capture that elusive “real” creature—but despite its redundancies, Robbins delivers a book about as free of cliché arguments as one can get. He avoids the cynicism and sneering that too often attend his subject to give a full, sympathetic, yet warts-and-all portrait of the man we’ve long known: last in his West Point class, impetuous, cocky, brave, foolish, insubordinate, violent, a born warrior who struggled to survive in peacetime, and, of course, the controversial chump of Little Big Horn. While Robbins (who’s written on Custer’s West Point class and on the Tet offensive) relates Custer’s life story well, he’s best at summoning the military and political context of the man’s life and acts, as well as the people key to Custer’s spectacular advances in rank and responsibility. For Custer himself, scarcely a subject crying out for more attention, Robbins can add little to what’s already been frequently told. Thus this addition to the list of existing Custer biographies merits attention principally for being the newest and for being written with verve while remaining fair to its subject. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"[Robbins] avoids the cynicism and sneering that too often attend his subject to give a full, sympathetic, yet warts-and-all portrait of the man we've long known: last in his West Point class, impetuous, cocky, brave, foolish, insubordinate, violent, a born warrior...." —Publisher's Weekly

"James Robbins's The Real Custer: From Boy General to Tragic Hero is a well-written four-hundred-page epic adventure that details the highs and lows of one of America’s most controversial figures. His treatment of Custer is fair and even handed. The most impressive aspect of the volume is the 'Boy General's' cadet years and his fearless exploits during the Civil War. For the casual reader who desires a truly dedicated exploration of Custer the man and soldier placed in the context of his time—this is the real thing."
—Michael Donahue, author of Drawing Battle Lines: The Map Testimony of Custer's Last Fight , historical interpreter at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and chairman of the Department of Visual Arts at Temple College

"Robbins has succeeded brilliantly in presenting The Real Custer , making vivid his romantic flair, joie de vivre, and battlefield mastery without being blind to his flaws."
—John Pafford, author of The Forgotten Conservative

"Robbins has created a scintillating, exciting narrative about the unique exploits of America's Boy General. He weaves a plethora of original source materials into a compelling, flowing tale of derring-do. The fast pace of the book matches the fast pace of Custer's Civil War involvement at Bull Run, the Peninsula, Gettysburg, the Shenandoah Valley, Five Forks, and Appomattox. Custer was everywhere in the eastern theater, and Robbins captures the nature and spirit of his adventures there and in the Indian wars that followed."
—Edward H. Bonekemper III, book review editor for Civil War News and author of Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian

From the Publisher

08/01/2014
George Custer (1839–76) is an American icon—written about, argued about, loved and derided since his debut as a lieutenant in 1861. Was he a gallant boy general and winner of countless cavalry battles, or a reckless commander who destroyed the Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn? Robbins (contributor, National Post and Washington Times; This Time We Win) attempts to tilt the balance with this latest biography. Brief sections on Custer's origins, followed by descriptions of juvenile hijinks at West Point (Custer graduated last in his class) set the stage for Robbins's portrayal of the soldier's success as a dashing cavalry commander and as a genuine hero in the Civil War. Custer's political forays, like his emotional connection to wife Libbie remain in the background, a little obscure even after extended treatment. The climactic battle is covered in a chapter, but other works have plowed that ground so extensively that little new can be said. The author's treatment leans toward the heroic American whose fatal flaw was cockiness and self-confidence. The work is heavily footnoted with extensive primary and secondary sources. VERDICT An accessible popular history well grounded in source material and presenting a favorable view of Custer that will be in high demand for historians and casual readers alike.—Edwin Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

Library Journal