The man knew he was out numbered, and still led his troops in to get slaughtered.I honestly don't understand how he can be considered a hero. His action alone proves why he graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point.
[deleted]
I hope Op's comments are in reference to the film, and not to the historical event of Custer's last fight. The film bears only the most casual relationship to the known facts of the story.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
He died as a True American in glorious battle.
shareRegarding the OP the film at least in terms of what it describes shows Custer deciding to sacrifice his regiment in order to give the infantry, a larger group of men, a fighting chance without which not only would they have been slaughtered but the town of Bismarck assaulted with likely many civilian casualties. The extent to which this was historically accurate is beside the point, as I assume the OP is talking about the film's characterization of Custer.
shareCuster was also one of the fastest promoted generals in the history of the US Army, and one of the leading Union heroes in the Civil War. He fought in at least 8 major cavalry engagements in the war and was victorious in all of them. He was selected to lead the Union victory parade after the war, and Grant was so appreciative of his efforts he gave Custer the table Lee surrendered on at Appomattox.
Custer was also a brutally effective Indian fighter and made the classic mistake of underestimating his enemy. He also pushed his men harder than anyone else, and may have stumbled into the battle a day early, when his men were worn out from travel. And then Reno didn't help him out as expected, and Terry was too far away to help.