And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Not a fan. While Custer was getting massacred by the north plains Indians, Reynaldo Slidell McKenzie was handily defeating the southern plains Indians. Why do we celebrate the loser and forget the winner?
And it was that confidence and experience that was his undoing. He wanted to run for President against US Grant and had backing to do it at the time. He needed a spectacular victory for his campaign, which was partly why he was so driven and was so worried that the hostiles might escape. However, at 500:1 odds, the Indians were not intimidated. If he'd taken his time, brought the mountain howitzers (Hotchkiss guns?) and Gatling guns and kept his command together, it would have worked better. But Custer wasn't interested in forming a Wellington Square on high ground and defending himself. Truth, if he'd done that, the Indians might have skirmished for a while, but they would have walked off to Canada. They wouldn't have been able to take the losses that it would have meant to them even at exceptionally favorable odds. Many of the Indians were armed with repeating rifles - better equipped than the 7th was. (Much the same situation that the British found themselves in only a few years later in Zululand).
I was watching a show with my wife, The Exception, with Jai Courtney. About a WWII soldier. Some nudity, which allowed me to comment that most actors today look nothing like WWII soldiers. Jai was too well fed, too many hours in the gym, muscular and fit and, well, rounded. Not fat, but you could tell he never missed a meal.
Nope, tough guys back then were more like the above. Lean, angular, barbed wire and raw hide tough. Even big guys had that look to their eye, hungry and mean.
Custer had balls. His Civil War exploits are rightfully famous, especially at Gettysburg. My Mom and Dad are both buried in Fort Custer National Cemetery.
Not a fan. While Custer was getting massacred by the north plains Indians, Reynaldo Slidell McKenzie was handily defeating the southern plains Indians. Why do we celebrate the loser and forget the winner?
ReplyDeleteI like this image because of the intense, overconfident look.
DeleteForeshadowing...
DeleteDoes he have a rabbit on his tie?
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of attitude.
ReplyDeleteAnd it was that confidence and experience that was his undoing. He wanted to run for President against US Grant and had backing to do it at the time. He needed a spectacular victory for his campaign, which was partly why he was so driven and was so worried that the hostiles might escape. However, at 500:1 odds, the Indians were not intimidated. If he'd taken his time, brought the mountain howitzers (Hotchkiss guns?) and Gatling guns and kept his command together, it would have worked better. But Custer wasn't interested in forming a Wellington Square on high ground and defending himself. Truth, if he'd done that, the Indians might have skirmished for a while, but they would have walked off to Canada. They wouldn't have been able to take the losses that it would have meant to them even at exceptionally favorable odds. Many of the Indians were armed with repeating rifles - better equipped than the 7th was. (Much the same situation that the British found themselves in only a few years later in Zululand).
I was watching a show with my wife, The Exception, with Jai Courtney. About a WWII soldier. Some nudity, which allowed me to comment that most actors today look nothing like WWII soldiers. Jai was too well fed, too many hours in the gym, muscular and fit and, well, rounded. Not fat, but you could tell he never missed a meal.
ReplyDeleteNope, tough guys back then were more like the above. Lean, angular, barbed wire and raw hide tough. Even big guys had that look to their eye, hungry and mean.
George Custer and brother Tom were both killers.
DeleteCuster had balls. His Civil War exploits are rightfully famous, especially at Gettysburg.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom and Dad are both buried in Fort Custer National Cemetery.