A new book reveals the breathtaking toll of the bloody 1876 battle between the U.S. military and the Sioux-Cheyenne coalition, which devastated families on both sides

By Tom Clavin

When Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and more than 210 members of his Seventh Cavalry died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn 150 years ago, it was a stunning national tragedy. The “Boy General,” as he was known because of his Civil War exploits, was by June 1876 the most famous and successful commanding officer on the frontier. George, with his flowing locks, and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth Bacon “Libbie” Custer, were a glamorous couple fawned over by a worshipful press. Some prominent politicians at the time hoped that Custer would run for president, just as soon as he returned from Montana painted in glory. READ ON