Who Killed Custer?

Who killed Custer, where was he killed, and when did he die? One of the most debated issues of the Battle of the Little Bighorn is the exact nature of George Armstrong Custer’s death.
#custer, #littlebighorn, #custer’slaststand @Havoscar

[ranchodeluxe]

Chief David Bald Eagle told me, that his Grandfathers, White Bull and I do not recall his other Grandpa's name, told him that no one knew who killed Custer, because no one recognized him from any other soldier. Dave was very clear-minded and recounted his two Grandfathers conversations very well.

[Hercules-vm]

I've heard some recent evidence that Custer killed himself. Apparently he had a gunshot wound to the temple and the bullet dug out of his skull was a pointed bullet of 41 caliber. Custer and two other officers were given an experimental Colt pistol, later on to be called the Colt Thunderer, to get a field report on it's effectiveness. They were 41 caliber, double action revolvers that used pointed bullets when most bullets of the era were flat nose.

[geoffreywestmoreland]

The doctor (Dr Porter if I remember correctly) who arrived at the scene immediately after the battle found Custer had been shot twice, once not fatally in the shoulder, and secondly in the temple. He extracted the bullet out the back of his head and it was a .41 calibre bullet that matched the new experimental Colt he had been given to try out. The doctor also had one of the three guns issued. The doctor did not say Custer finished himself off to prevent capture and torture, but one of the indians was not going to try and take that gun away and then shoot him in the temple. There is another youtube video which details all this. The wounded Custer shot himself in the head and killed himself to prevent capture and torture. There you have it

[johnblackstock]

There is another documentary that says the Field Doctor who examined the corps said years later the upper body wound was not fatal, and the head shot was self-inflected.

[lowcountrydawg]

Custer was a teetotaler who neither drank, smoked nor chewed tobacco. As Havoscar claims, we will never know who killed him, but I am of the opinion that he was already mortally wounded on Last Stand Hill when he (or Tom) fired the coup de grace into his left temple.

[madlenellul]

Well I’ve spent nearly seventy odd of my years researching the Battle if the Little Big Horn.
Part of my career, before retirement, in emergency management.
Acquiring a knowledge of human psych and training officers for leadership roles.

As to the battle.
I have no doubt that George Custer’s leadership ended at Miniconjou ford where, leading the charge, he was shot from the saddle. *The warriors who fired that shot wounded Custer in the upper left breast.
A not immediate but eventual fatal wound. Incapacitating Custer from command.

The wounds as recorded by the doctors present do not correspond to the wounds on Custer’s body as reported, gallantly, to Elizabeth Custer. Armstrong had two fatal wounds. A shot to the left upper breast and a shot through the left temple. Custer’s ears were also pierced, a finger was missing and arrows shot through his scrotum. Discolouring had occurred with the body with bloating and other wounds, or gashes, difficult to ascertain after two days in the hot sun.
The physicians present determined that the temple shot was not delivered by the right handed Custer.
The breast wound would not have allowed him to raise his arm.
Ruling out suicide.
Their conclusion the fatal wound was delivered in the field by persons unknown.
To my knowledge though it’s a lifetime ago when I read the medical report there is no mention of the type of weapon or calibre of the bullet..
Supposedly Custer was armed with two English Bulldog pistols though these were never recovered from what became known as Custer Field.

I am ignoring the ridiculous statement that the command stopped because it had penetrated only half way into the village. Anyone with military knowledge knows that all Custer had was the tactical element of surprise. Charging through the village and rejoining Reno’s command would, at that moment, have been successful. Halting, especially mid stream, not an option or military manoeuvre.

If we were to examine George Armstrong Custer using contemporary methods then we would conclude that his was a narcissistic personality and, as such, dangerous to his subordinates.
An examination of his history reveals a recklessness and impulsive character prepared to sacrifice all to obtain results. This manifested in his own belief in ‘Custer’s Luck’..
Coming in late as Lieutenant Colonel of the 7th. there is no existing evidence to show that Custer ever delegated, as we currently do as routine, command to any of his subordinates.
A clique formed at Fort Abraham Lincoln of pro. Tom Custer, Yates, Keogh, Calhoun etc and anti Custer, Reno, Benteen..
I am excluding Captain Thomas Weir as his loyalties are divided as is the rumour of his affair with Libby.
This lack of leadership training resulting in the confusion at the ford where two captains, Yates and Keogh, instead of remaining together divided the command into two battalions and separated on the field.
A belief possibly by Keogh that shortly the command would be joined by Benteen roving command of a further three companies and the ammunition pack train.
As requested in Custer’s last note through Martini.
This division on unknown terrain resulting in the eventual anhilation of the five companies.

As to who killed Custer it could have been any one of the warriors stationed to guard the ford. Supposedly five.
Whatever it was the decisive moment in the battle.
After that as command devolved it just became a buffalo hunt for the warriors..

Reno and Benteen another story..🥰👵🇦🇺🇺🇸
* Walter Camps Notes..refer to Pretty Shield.

[jamesivie]

The most logical scenario was that Custer was shot in the chest as he was trying to cross the river. He as then pulled onto his horse whether dead or dying and rode with the troopers as they retreated to Custer hill. His brother Tom Custer, two-time medal of honor winner, shot him in the temple when he saw that the battle was lost to prevent the enemy from torturing and killing him. This makes the most sense, since he Custer, would have been leading the charge and was expecting the Indians to scatter as was a usual tactic, but time time, armed with repeating rifles, they stood their ground and shot back.

[markusstark]

I recommend “Who Killed George A. Custer?” by Bruce Brown. Very conclusive and very likely! It was the marksman White Cow Bull when Custer led the attack crossing the river. After that, the 210 soldiers acted completely leaderless and were easily defeated!

[bobwallace]

It was over 100 degrees when Custer approached the river. No one was wearing ANY kind of jackets. Custer also had very short hair. He was there to round up women and children to use as bargaining chips to end the hostilities. He was shot through the body while in the river, pulled up by his troopers and ridden back to command. Custer would have been greatly incapacitated by the large wound. A Indian boy suicide charge had already run off the horses so they were stuck. The temple hole was either by Custer himself, his brother or one of the Indian women roaming the hill mutilating and killing any survivors after the battle. This him being right or left handed theory is bunk. Anyone that can shoot can shoot either way and certainly one of Custer's background would be an expert. Judging by the markers on the hill with the majority trailing off to the ravine, the officers all died early and it became every man for himself early on.

[jwmiller]

Surgeon Henry Porter, who had been with Reno on Reno Hill, examined Custer and determined it was a self inflicted gunshot. He was able to easily retrieve the bullet and recognized the caliber as 41 due to the fact that he also carried the same 41 caliber Colt. General Terry had given one pistol to Custer and one to Surgeon Porter and kept the third one himself...Custer had chest wound as well...plus mutilations which were never made public out of respect for Libby Custer....but they were documented at the time...Tom Custer was along side George also self inflicted head wound also mutilated...a very many soldiers died by the same method...

[lindafarnes]

I just saw a video suggesting he committed suicide. The article was written in the 1950's, but investigation indicated it was plausible. The same article stated the information was to be kept secret until after the death of his wife.

[KernowekTim]

New evidence almost certainlty dictates that Custer commited suicide. Records were 'lost' after an 'on-site of death' postmortem by Surgeon Porter, Head Army Surgeon 'Dakota Theatre of War', at the battlefield, found that 'cause of death' had been made by a 41 calibre bullet that was lodged in Custer's skull. It had not exited the cranium after entering through the temple, but was lodged opposite it's entry point, in Custer's skull. Custer had been given a Colt .41 Rim-fire :'Thunderer', one of three given to General Alfred Terry, as head of operations in Dakota Territory. The Colt Thunderer, was a project gun at the time, along with it's 'stablemates' the Lightning and Rain-maker, respectively. The 41 calibre bullet was pointed, as opposed to the usual domed types and as a rim-fire round, it did not have the muzzle-velocity of a centre-fire bullet, hence it lacked the power to exit Custer's skull. No mention of this was made due to Custer's wife Libby being alive. After her death, the issue was 'put to drawer' until developments led to information regarding the issue 'coming to light.' A bullet wound to Custer's shoulder (non-fatal), had occured before death. All other injuries were post-mortem wounds . Check out, 'Frontier Western Heritage' :You Tube Channel. 'Did Custer Commit Suicide'. It's most interesting, I believe.

[speakupriseup]

I watched a video the other day by Frontier Western Heritage that suggests Custer shot himself in the head when he realised the battle was lost, from information given by the 7th Cav surgeon who found his body and a bullet from the new trial 41 cal revolver he had been given to test out was in Custer's skull.

[elchoya]

3:38, i thought they were no sabres at the little big horn

[brucemcrae]

I just finished watching the video 'Did Custer Commit Suicide?'. The evidence presented there is pretty convincing, a Dr. Porter who was with Reno that day reported that he observed a bullet entry hole in Custer's forehead and actually removed the spent bullet from the back of his skull. It was a .41 caliber round that could only have come from a revolver that Custer was known to have taken into battle with him. No one else on either side would have had a weapon of that caliber. Furthermore, Porter said that Custer only had one other would, a shoulder wound that was in no way fatal. Dr. Porter was a highly credible witness, having previously been cited for bravery by General Terry. I, for one, believe that Custer, realizing the hopelessness of the situation that he faced and the fate that awaited him, chose to take his own life.

[KjartanAndersen]

I never understood the argument that a right handed man would have difficulty shooting himself in the left temple. Only time this argument is valid is if the man has no left arm/hand. I would be surprised if soldiers didn't train on using guns with both hands in this time so close to the civil war.
It is trained today so that everyone is able to keep loading/firing even when wounded in their dominant arm/hand. We had drills where the dominant hand was tied up and we had to fire the gun and reload it with the use of one non-dominant hand.

[davidoldfield]

When Custer was shot in the chest is uncertain, but he wasn't wearing a buckskin jacket so it wouldn't have been him who was shot at the river. The indians did not know Custer was present - that is well understood. Whoever was responsible for the shot to Custer's chest didn't know they'd shot Custer - they didn't know who they'd shot. Given the way the battle is reported to have occurred and the chaos of Last Stand Hill, even the person who fired the shot that struck Custer likely didn't know they'd even hit their target - the bullets were thick and flying in all directions. It is likely the shot to Custer's temple was suicide, assisted or otherwise - such was the view of Dr Porter, the Army Surgeon who examined Custer's body on the battlefield.

[justme]

Custer's pistol killed Custer near the point when most of the other soldiers had been killed. Custer had a wound in his shoulder and a wound in the temple. No reason why Custer couldn't have used his left hand to shoot.

[jasonkane]

His brother did (in my opinion) before retreating further up the hill. Custer had a mortal, but not immediately fatal wound. Tom Custer was a dyed in the wool badass. But, it's just supposition.

[jeffreyenglish]

Custer committed suicide on the battlefield. He owned one of three 41 caliber pistols ever made. The field doctor removed a regular bullet out of his shoulder and the rare 41 caliber from his temple. What are the odds he would be shot at powder burn range with his own gun?