My maternal great-grandfather (George Dinsmore, a Scotsman) joined the Army in 1876 and was sent to the 7th Cavalry in the Dakota Territory. As a raw recruit, he mucked out horse stalls and took care of Custer's personal mounts (Vic and Dandy) to the celebrated Lt. Colonel. Still in training, he did not participate in the fray at the Little Bighorn. He later became a scout and was involved with the Indian Wars against the Nez Perce Indians. I still possess his military discharge papers written on vellum.

I live in Monroe, MI. This is far more information than I've ever heard about Custer.  So far, we've been able to keep Custer in his current location. History is history, regardless of motive or intent.

Visited Monroe 11 years ago. It was well worth the stop, very nice museum and good info about the Custer/Bacons and the battle/ massacre of the River Raisin in 1813 during the War of 1812. Thanks for the video

Very balanced video. Thank you for taking the time to share Monroe and Custer family lore with us!

Tom Custer awarded 2 Medal of Honor decorations

Very informative documentary. Really fills in the Monroe, Michigan background of Custer's and Libby's families, and provides a very understandable explanation of the reasons leading up to the Battle of LBH and its result. I knew Custer's scant remains were sent back to West Point but not that it was controversial whether those were even his remains. Another nice quality about this documentary is the family aspect it brings out: the fact that Custer and Libby were connected to this place in Michigan, got married there, had their parents there, and siblings, and what became of them, and what the character of the town was, even photos of their houses. For such a short documentary---well done and choc-full of lesser known info!!

Crook never sent a courier to advise Custer of Crooks abandoning the mission

One of the finest doc.on Custer I've seen!!

Just to add some details; during the 1874 Black Hills Expedition, George wanted all his men in formation at a certain time each morning.  One morning, Company C was not in formation.  George rode out to see where they were, and he saw the men of C Company just lounging around. When he asked why the hell they weren't in formation, they informed George that his brother Tom was still in his tent, sleeping.  George walked over to Tom's tent, peeked in, and sure enough, Tom was fast asleep.  George set fire to Tom's tent just to see how fast Tom could get up.  With the exception of Tom, a good laugh was had by all.

By the way,  I own some Springfield Cavalry Carbines associated with the 7th Cavalry.  One is documented as being taken from the battle site by one of Lame Deer's warriors, and recaptured by the 2nd Cavalry, F Company at the fight at Lame Deer's camp in May. 1877, along with other guns, uniforms, flags, and other equipment from The Little Big Horn fight.

An exceptional video. It brought many memories for me. I grew up in Monroe County Michigan. I spent 28 years in law enforcement, first with the Monroe County Sheriff Dept and 25 years with the Monroe Police Dept. The last 9 years I was the Chief of Police and so I am very familiar with all of the City of Monroe sites you featured.
My maternal grandmother whose maiden name was White, grew up in the City of Monroe. Her grandmother, my great, great grandmother, was acquainted with Libby Bacon as they went to school together. The White family graveyard plot is also in Woodland Cemetery in Monroe. There are dates in White family plot that go back to the 1700s.
I had always been aware of General Custer but I became more interested when our family visited the Gettysburg National Battlefield. I had never heard of the East Calvary Battlefield. I learned that General Custer and the Michigan Calvary Brigade had intercepted and defeated Gen JEB Stuart. As the video points out, the mission of Stuart was to attack the rear of the Union line at the time of Pickett’s charge. If Stuart and Pickett had been successful, the Union may have lost the Civil war.
Recently, my wife and I visited the Little Big Horn National Battlefield and Cemetery near a small town named Crow Agency,  Montana. A park ranger gave a very good presentation as we stood at the stone monument. We could see the entire panorama of the battlefield which is much larger than I expected. It should be remembered that it is National Battlefield Monument with Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen from all our wars interred there. As are all of the National Battlefields, it is a solemn place of honor.
Thanks for such a special video.

The River Raisin was also the scene of the massacre of wounded American Soldiers, by Native Americans ( with British approval) during the war of 1812. In fact the battle cry of the American Army, at the Battle of the Thames, ( also called the Battle of MacGregors Mill, where Tecumseh was killed, on land once owned by my late wife's family) was "Remember The Raisin"

I question the people who want to hide Custers statue, I’m disgusted with these idiots

Excellent

I can't believe the extraordinary research that went into this.  I learned a part of history that i never knew.  Very interesting.

Wow! What a great documentary! Just phenomenal. Thank you for taking us along.

I first saw Custers military headstone on the Little Bighorn battle site in 1970.  I was surprised in 1986 when I called on the Monroe, Mi. historical museum and viewed it again at the main entrance.  My inquiry revealed all the battlefield headstones had been replaced with new ones and Custers had been donated to the Monroes museum.  They had a number of Custer artifacts, uniforms and curios.  The museum also covered the battle of the River Raisin where in 1812 US forces were routed by English and their Indian allies.

Exceptional work!  Once again, outstanding research.  Never disappointed.

When I first saw this suggested video, I thought, "Oh here we go with a new age hate video", but I was happily wrong -It was very accurate, fair, respectful and beautifully made.  Thanks for making this for us all to enjoy.

Thank you for this video. George Armstrong Custer is some kin to me. We both descend from Eva Doors. I believe she was his grandmother.
I am an amateur genealogist and familial history researcher. Every scrap of info I can find is important to me. I collect family stories and put them in family tree and history notebooks (just three ring binders). I am always looking for more.
So thank you again.

What a balanced, nice and sweet take on a very difficult person to understand, especially after these many years.  He was such a complex character in so many ways, and no doubt that has led to his ability to fascinate.  I'm very much into the whole Custer thing and story, and when I get the stock 'he wanted to wipe out the Indians' schtick, I refer people to My Life on the Plains, where he makes clear his respect for the native population and their ways.  Of course, none of those people actually bother reading the book ...