Custer Into the West (Nonfiction)

The well-researched Custer Into the West focuses on George Armstrong Custer’s summer campaign of 1867, from the 7th Cavalry’s departure at Fort Hays on June 1 to its arrival at Fort Wallace on July 13. This was Custer’s first year on the Plains and his first official expedition against hostile Indians, which was cited for massive blunders. The never-before-published journals and maps of Lt. Henry Jackson, Custer’s itinerary officer, describe this problem-beset march in Volume 11 of the “Custer Trails” series. Though this campaign and events afterward resulted in Custer’s court-martial and subsequent suspension from service for one year, Jackson’s documents disclose Custer “acted remarkably well during this expedition.”