Custer graduated a year early, last of 34 cadets in the Class of 1861 from the United States Military Academy, just after the start of the Civil War.
Ordinarily, such a class rank would be a ticket to an obscure posting and mundane career, but Custer had the fortune to graduate just as the Civil War broke out.
Custer acquired a solid reputation during the Civil War.
His association with several important officers helped his career, as did his performance as an aggressive commander. By war's end, Custer was promoted to the temporary rank (brevet) of Major General. (At war's end, this was reduced to the permanent rank of Captain).
This would seem to some that he rose via 'association', but that was not the case - Custer distinguished himself by fearless, aggressive actions in some of the numerous cavalry engagements that started off the Gettysburg campaign, including Brandy Station and Aldie.
Though his style of battle was often claimed to be reckless or foolhardy, military planning was always the basis of every Custer "dash".
As writer Marguerite Merrington explains - 'The Custer Story in Letters', "George Custer meticulously scouted every battlefield, gauged the enemy weak points and strengths, ascertained the best line of attack and only after he was satisfied was the 'Custer Dash' with a Michigan yell focused with complete surprise on the enemy in routing them every time." One of his greatest attributes during the Civil War was what Custer wrote of as "luck" and he needed it to survive some of these charges, and it was that 'luck' - coupled with solidly professional planning that brought him to prominence.
On February 1, 1866, Custer was mustered out of the volunteer service and returned to his permanent rank of Captain in the Regular Army, assigned to the 5th U.S. Cavalry.
In 1867, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the newly-formed 7th Cavalry - largely as the result of his benefactor, General Phillip Sheridan.
Years on the frontier followed - with skirmishes and small-scale battles that were nothing like those experienced during the late War, and with none of the attendant publicity which he had grown to love.
Fighting Indians in the West was far, far different, with their quick strikes and rapid retreats and unpredictability, and several other Officers would find them equally difficult to contend with - one lending his name to the 'Fetterman Massacre'...
Then came June 25, 1876...
Learning of a 'big village' along the Little Big Horn River, he set out to round up the Indians to take them to reservations.
Unbeknownst to his Crow Scouts, the Hunkpapa Lakota holy man Sitting Bull had called together the largest ever gathering of plains Indians at Ash Creek, Montana (later moved to the Little Bighorn River) to discuss what to do about the whites.
It was this united encampment of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians that the 7th met at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Custer had 208 officers and men under his command, an additional 142 under Reno, just over a 100 under Benteen, 50 soldiers with Captain McDougall's rearguard, and 84 soldiers under Lieutenant Mathey with the pack train.
The Indians may have fielded over 3500 warriors - cocked, locked and ready to rock...
The rest, you know...