Free The Last Days of George Armstrong Custer by Thom Hatch

command” for traveling from Fort Wallace to Fort Hays at a time when his command was expected to be engaged with hostile Indians, and “conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline” by completing a long and exhausting march when the horses were in unfit condition, neglecting to recover or bury the bodies of two troopers at Downer’s Station, and procuring two ambulances and four mules belonging to the United States without proper authority.
    An additional charge was preferred by Captain Robert W. West, who accused Custer of “conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline” for ordering that the deserters from the column be shot down without a trial and denying the wounded proper medical attention.
    Custer pleaded not guilty to all charges and had prepared his defense with the assistance of his counsel, Captain Charles C. Parsons, a former West Point classmate. His defense offered questionable reasons about seeking new orders, securing supplies at Fort Harker (although Fort Wallace was well stocked), and obtaining medical supplies to treat cholera victims (the cholera epidemic had not as yet reached Fort Wallace).
    The trial lasted until October 11, concluding with Parsons reading a lengthy rebuttal written by Custer that answered each charge and specification.
    The court, however, was not swayed by Custer’s explanations or plea for acquittal. He was found guilty on all counts but cleared of any criminality regarding the ambulances and the treatment of the wounded deserters. His sentence was that he be suspended from rank and command for one year and forfeit his pay for that period.
    Custer hoped that the reviewing officer might overturn the verdict, but on November 18 General Sherman issued a statement that the “proceedings, findings and sentence … are approved by President Grant.”
    Custer and Libbie were of the opinion that he had been the scapegoat for the failure of the Hancock Expedition. Some vindication came when Phil Sheridan, who sided with Custer, graciously offered the Custers the use of his quarters at Fort Leavenworth. Sheridan’s offer was accepted, and the couple enjoyed the winter social season at that post before leaving for Monroe, Michigan, in the spring.
    There were, however, two episodes of nasty business stemming from the court-martial. Custer charged Captain West with drunkenness on duty, for which West was found guilty and suspended for two months. West retaliated by preferring charges of murder in a civil court against Custer and Lieutenant William W. Cooke for the death of trooper Charles Johnson. On January 18, 1868, a civilian judge cited a lack of evidence and dismissed that case.
    Further vindication for Custer would come two months short of the end of his suspension when he would be summoned back to duty for Sheridan’s Winter Campaign of 1868–69. Custer would be participating in an expedition that would establish his reputation as the country’s premier Indian fighter but would also initiate a controversy within the Seventh Cavalry as well as with the public at large. As with any great man or those who strive for greatness, there are always those whose envy or resentment compels them to spread rumors meant to cast doubts about the great man’s character. In addition, much of the country was under the impression that the policy of treating the Indians with peaceful intentions would be reciprocated and the result of the upcoming campaign would be a real shock.
    And George Armstrong Custer would be at the center of both of these controversies.

 
    Four
    Death Along the Washita
    In the summer and fall of 1868, the Southern Plains were being terrorized by incessant attacks from Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho Indians. Raids by marauding hostiles against white settlements, soldiers, the railroad, and stage lines were so prevalent that the government was forced to seek a solution.
    During George Armstrong