Custers Last Battle

"Gentlemen, in my opinion General Custer has made the biggest mistake in his life, by not taking the whole regiment in at once in the first attack." --Captain Moylan, a veteran soldier, in Custers Last Battle

Custers Last Battle, originally published in Century Magazine in 1892, describes Lieutenant Edward Settle Godfreys experiences as a survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn, the most significant during the Great Sioux War in 1876. This battle between Arapaho, Lakota, and Norther Cheyenne tribes and the 7^th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, ended in a major defeat of US forces. More than half of US troops were killed: 268 officers and troops, including Lieutenant Colonel Custer, two of his brothers, his brother-in-law, and a nephew. The number of Indian casualties were estimated between 31 to 300. Although the US forces lost this battle, over time Custer and his troops became iconic figures in American history.