General George Armstrong Custer was a man whose life was distinguished by a number of accomplishments, but it will be more likely that he will be known more for the way he died than the way he lived. A lifelong military commander, Custer met his version of Waterloo on June 22, 1876 Custer saw his demise in the Battle of Little Big Horn after deciding to lead his army into battle against Native Americans who greatly dwarfed them in pure numbers. Custer was born on December 5, 1839 to a working class family.
Later in life, Custer wanted to enter law school, but his family lacked the funds to afford such tuition. As a result, Custer entered West Point to launch a career in military service, a career that he achieved great success. Custer was a successful Calvary soldier during the Civil War and, as a result of his battlefield success, would be promoted to the rank of General. After the Civil War ended, Custer continued his career in the military, but his accomplishments would take on a more ominous tone.Later in life, Custer would become well known as a staunch military opponent of Native Americans and would lead his brigades against Indian troops during many of the so-called “Indian Wars. ” Custer became supremely confident in his abilities as a field general, but this confidence quickly turned into overconfidence as evidenced by the disastrous decision to lead a paltry number of 655 men against the vast armada of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.
This decision would be Custer’s last and worst military command as he was killed along with the bulk of his men during the raid.Frederick Douglas With the passing of Frederick Douglas, the world has lost one of its most noble men and the African-American community has lost one of its greatest champions. Civil rights remain a relatively new phrase in the vocabulary of most Americans and it is quite possible that the without the great contributions of Frederick Douglas, the phrase might not even exist in people’s lexicon at all. Douglas was born the son of a slave family on February 17, 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland.In 1838, Douglas escaped the shackles of slavery and became a free man.
He did not, however, rest on his laurels as Douglas would go on to dedicate his life to abolitionist pursuits. Douglas joined a number of abolitionist organizations and quickly became a well known speaker on the lecture circuit. Douglas’ impassioned speeches did a great deal to raise awareness towards the flight of African-Americans in bondage. This notoriety as an orator brought Douglas quite a bit of fame and contributed to publishers decided to publish his famous autobiography.The autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, became a successful seller and did a great deal to raise consciousness towards the plight of African-American slaves.
To a great degree, this autobiography helped the abolitionist movement gain great momentum and this eventually contributed to the end of slavery. After the Civil War, Douglas had become a popular bank president and later a US ambassador. In time, Douglas retired to a quiet life in Washington, DC until his passing of a heart attack at the age of 77.
