The Custer mystery.The Custer Mystery by Charles G. duBois (Upton, 193 pp., $35) THAT THE argument persists untiltoday as to whether Custer was right or wrong,' claimed the overconfident o·ver·con·fi·dent adj. Excessively confident; presumptuous. o  ver·con Custerphobe S. L. A.
Marshall, suggested "only that people try to get their fun that way
in lieu of something better to do.' Yet as the books on the
"boy general' and his admittedly minor last battle flow on,
his unfashionable defenders still demand a hearing. The Episcopal
priest Charles G. du Bois Du Bois (d `bois, dəbois`), city (1990 pop. 8,286), Clearfield co., W central Pa., in the region of the Allegheny plateau; inc. 1881. (whose wife once confessed to having
"lost her husband at the Battle of the Little Bighorn') is
best known for his 1954 pamphlet Kick the Dead Lion. Rather than
condemn Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer for attacking, or for
dividing his command, this juicy polemic flayed Major Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne. He is most noted for his role in the Battle of Little Big Horn. for
disobeying orders and leading a "charge' away from the enemy,
Captain Frederick Benteen Frederick William Benteen (August 24, 1834-June 221898) was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. He was in command of a battalion of the 7th U. S. Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. for disloyal dawdling despite a last message
to "be quick,' and both men for not coming to Custer's
aid. Du Bois's new The Custer Mystery, however, is not merely an
indictment, but (despite an oddly small bibliography) another careful
reconstruction of the Sioux-Cheyenne triumph. While pursuing
chronology, historical background, and what ifs--rather than the
bizarrely colorful Seventh Cavalry personalities that can help make the
Little Bighorn story so fascinating to the casual reader--this slim
volume is not aimed solely at those already bitten by the Custer bug,
and it may also intrigue (or enrage en·rage tr.v. en·raged, en·rag·ing, en·rag·es To put into a rage; infuriate. [Middle English *enragen, from Old French enrager : en-, causative pref. ) Indian partisans with its somewhat cold-hearted arguments demolishing any Sioux claims to Dakota's Black Hills. Du Bois's previous passion seems nearly spent; he now sees Reno as a victim of "panic' rather than a coward, and finds Benteen's conduct less subversive than baffling baf·fle tr.v. baf·fled, baf·fling, baf·fles 1. To frustrate or check (a person) as by confusing or perplexing; stymie. 2. To impede the force or movement of. n. 1. . But he can still sum up the debacle of 1876 with the words of Custer's friend and fellow Indian fighter, General Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War. Early life Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm. : "No commanding officer can win victories with seven-twelfths of his command remaining out of the engagement when within the sound of his rifle shots.' |
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