Re: A Brief Rebuttal

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Comments:
: : Hi Don. Thanks for posting. I must, however, take issue with some of your comments ...

: : : Custer's insubordinate attack on people looking for food and lifestyle supplies SHOULD NOT be included on a list with the other three military conflicts mentioned!

: : The issue of insubordination is VERY much debatable! As for the "list" of battles, that is made clear on the Opening Page ... NO ONE's "list" is likely to be the same ...

: : 
: : >This upsets me even though I can't claim any Native American ancestors.  If Bighorn is included, then the premise of a military encounter "against all odds" could be extended to the hypothetical situation of a pilot of a troop transport aircraft having an attack of dementia, and crashing the fully loaded plane into a hillside next to the enemy camp.  As the few survivors slowly crawl out of the crashed plane, they are cut down by enemy soldiers who were in the middle of eating and resting from a long march.

: : Your hypothetical leaves me bewildered. I see no likeness to Little Bighorn. Was Custer suffering from dementia? I think not!

: : >Yes, the situation for the crashed soldiers was hopeless, but can we include them on a list containing the names Gettysburg and Alamo? Obviously not, and the same, I say, concerning Little Bighorn.

: : Why "obviously not"? At the Alamo, a case could be made that the defenders were violating a constitutional law! In fact, this event helped to lead to the eventual take-over of a part of Mexico by the US. Gettysburg, too, could be looked at as a "suicide" mission by a brilliant general, General Lee. Was he suffering from dementia when he ordered Pickett's Charge?

: : :     I'm a 43-year-old white, male, high school Social Studies teacher in Erie, Pa, who used to play "cowboys and Indians" as a kid, and learned my first history lessons about the "Red Man" from Hollywood presentations in movies and television throughout the '60's.  After finding out what I have, over the last few years of research, concerning the battle, its background, and specifically, Custer's behavioral history, I can't believe that that person is or has been, treated by some as a sort of glamorous, romantic hero.  Aside from the fact that the entire premise upon which the "3-pronged roundup" rested was bogus,

: : How so?

: : > Custer's behavior was outright insubordination.

: : VERY strong case against that theory!

: : >  Therefore, I submit that anyone with any familial connections to a slain soldier (or his horse), should hold Custer personally responsible for the death of their relative/friend, and certainly not any of the Native Americans who were defending themselves and their families.

: : What about Grant? Sherman? Sheridan? Terry? Even Crook? Custer was doing the duty of his Country! For better or for worse ...
: :   

: : >Custer was reckless and personally lucky, not courageous and militarily skilled.

: : There is NO arguing his courage!

: : >Large numbers of his own men were killed in and after the Civil War, because of his foolish, careless vanity.  And, he had a history of attacking unarmed, innocent Indians for the purpose of killing, not taking prisoner.

: : What about Grant at Cold Harbor? MANY more severe cases of casualities can be cited than any numbers Custer may be accountable for. That was the nature of Civil War tactics. As for the prisoner part ... why, then, were prisoners taken at the Wash*ta Battle? At Little Bighorn, it must be noted, every Army man expected the Indians to flee, not stand and fight!
: :   

: : >When I think back upon how I was taught about chivalrous cavalry soldiers fighting bloodthirsty savages, it makes me want to puke, as well as slap anyone who presented that image to me when I was a child.  Who can blame any Native American for being sarcastic, cynical, or hateful toward the descendants of the invaders? 

: : Warfare is ugly, no matter who wages it. Were the Sioux any less guilty of what you describe? Ask the Crow & Arikara. What about Iroquois expansionism in the East? White cavalrymen are not alone in this!
: :  
: : One needs to take a balanced approach at all this.

: Rich - I couldn't have said it better myself. Where is the balanced view these days? Its always this way when a discussion of custer comes up. Would these people be sobbing over treatment of the redman if they were trying to establish a homestead on the prairie in 1876? Or would they say "forget it" the land rightfully belongs to these wandering nomads so I'll stay in Pittsburg and choke on the factory smoke. Why honor the Alamo and the forceful annexation of a large hunk of Mexico on one hand but castigate our westward expansion  at the expense of some nomadic stone age tribes? To make these accusations and judgements in the light of 150 years of "enlightened" history puts a kind of sanctimonious twist on the call.
:  Two more cents from - Ed McD


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