Custer at Gettysburg: A New Look at George Armstrong Custer versus Jeb Stuart in the Battle's Climactic Cavalry Charges

George Armstrong Custer is famous for his fatal defeat at the Little Bighorn in 1876, but his baptism of fire came during the Civil War. After graduating last in the West Point class of 1861, Custer served from the First Battle of Bull Run through Appomattox, where he witnessed the surrender. His true rise to prominence began at Gettysburg in 1863, when he received promotion to brigadier general and command of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, the "Wolverines." On the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, Custer and his men heard enemy cannon fire and ordered a charge of one of his regiments, leading it into action himself. Stuart mounted a final charge, which broke the Confederates' last attack, and Custer wielded a sword at their head.

Format: Hardback
Length: 432 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2020
Publisher: Stackpole Books

George Armstrong Custer is renowned for his tragic loss at the Little Bighorn in 1876, but Custer's baptism of fire came during the Civil War. After graduating last in the West Point class of 1861, Custer served from the First Battle of Bull Run (only a month after graduation) through Appomattox, where he witnessed the surrender. But Custer's true rise to prominence began at Gettysburg in 1863. On the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, just twenty-three years old and barely two years removed from being the goat of his West Point class, Custer received promotion to brigadier general and command – his first direct field command – of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, the "Wolverines." Now that he held general rank, Custer felt comfortable wearing the distinctive, some said gaudy, uniform that helped skyrocket him into fame and legend. However flashy he may have been in style, Custer did not disappoint his superiors, who promoted him in a search for more aggressive cavalry officers. At approximately noon on July 3, 1863, Custer and his men heard enemy cannon fire: Stuart's signal to Lee that he was ready for action. Thus began the melee that was East Cavalry Field at Gettysburg. Much back-and-forth preceded Custer's career-defining action. An hour or two into the battle, after many of his cavalrymen had been reduced to hand-to-hand infantry-style fighting, Custer ordered a charge of one of his regiments and led it into action himself, screaming one of the battles most famous lines: "Come on, you Wolverines!" Around three o'clock, Stuart mounted a final charge, which mowed down Union cavalry – until it ran into Custer's Wolverines, who stood firm, with Custer wielding a sword at their head, and broke the Confederates' last attack. In a book combining two popular subjects, Tucker recounts the story of.

Weight: 772g
Dimension: 163 x 235 x 36 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780811738538