Born in 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio, George Armstrong (or Autie, as his sister called him) Custer attended Alfred Stubbins Young Men’s Academy. He graduated in 1855, taught at Beech Point School in Ohio and in 1857 enrolled in West Point, where he was graduated last in his class in 1861. That same year Custer fought in the first Battle of Bull Run and began distinguishing himself as a talented officer, eventually earning brevets as a brigadier general (1863) and a major general (1865). Followi

September 2004
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- Paying the Rent
- Following Custer’s Guidon
- What is hanging around Keith Carradine’s neck in the June 2004 issue of True West?
- A friend claims some of the weapons used to assassinate Pancho Villa could have been obtained only from U.S. sources, thus there was a U.S. connection to his assassination. Is this true?
- In your opinion, when did the Old West come to an end?
- On a jeep tour in the Sonoran desert recently, our guide lectured on the jojoba plant, saying the beans are high in caffeine, which is why Native Americans chewed them for an energy boost and cowboys used them to make coffee. What do you think?
- Has an original copy of the official inquest into the O.K. Corral shooting survived? A book by Al Turner purports to include the complete testimonies of the participants, but I also read that the original findings were lost in one of Tombstone’s fires.