S6·E21 George Armstrong Custer: America's Golden Cavalier

He rose to fame as the youngest general in the Union Army, leading a pivotal charge at Gettysburg, but earned a place in history for his ill-fated command at the Battle of Little Bighorn. In fact, although his life was marked by towering accomplishments, his name has become synonymous with defeat. Through archival letters and journal entries, Biography investigates the life of George Armstrong Custer, tracing his remarkable rise through the ranks of the Union Army during the Civil War and his later reincarnation as a frontier combatant. Leading scholars explore his unusual relationship with his wife and reveal how she helped turn her husband into an American legend, while period accounts and archival artifacts shed light on his infamous “Last Stand.” Illuminating and insightful, George Armstrong Custer offers a probing look into the life and legacy of one of America’s most compelling figures.