customary dash and spirit and had him thoroughly used up before the rest of the command appeared. Of his twenty-five hundred men sixteen hundred were prisoners, while Custer had taken eleven guns, seventeen battle-flags, and two hundred loaded wagons; losing in the fight less than a dozen men.

During the following night the expedition crossed the Blue Ridge and at two o'clock the next day Custer appeared before Charlottesville, the mayor of which came humbly out to present him the keys of the place. This was his second appearance in the vicinity of Charlottesville, which he had threatened a year before, during a raid in which he came within four miles of that place, but was prevented from taking it by a superior force, aided by a battery. He ended the present affair by an attack in which he practically destroyed the remainder of Early's force and nearly took their leader prisoner.

Custer was "in at the death" of the Confederate army. He took part in the battles of Dinwiddie CourtHouse and Five Forks, which made Lee's position in Richmond untenable, and was active in the hard ride that brought the cavalry across Lee's line of retreat. When the exhausted Confederates, finding themselves opposed by a strong body of cavalry backed up by infantry, gave up the struggle in despair and sent out a flag of truce, it was Custer's fortune to receive it-a white towel on a pole. He was subsequently present at the ceremonies of surrender and fell heir to the flag of truce, together with the table on which the terms of surrender were written.

The war ended, leaving Custer brevet brigadier in the regular army. After the grand review in Washington, the gallant cavalier, still only twenty-six

years of age, was ordered on duty to Texas, and while there applied for leave of absence for a year, to serve as chief of cavalry under Juarez, then fighting with Maximilian for the freedom of Mexico. The Government was not prepared to take a hand, either directly or indirectly, in this contest, and refused his request, and the next year sent him north, where in the spring of 1867 he was in Hancock's expedition against the Cheyenne Indians. He closed the campaign against them at Washita River on November 27, 1868, when he attacked them so fiercely and successfully that the band was almost annihilated. The few remaining were restored to their reservation, with the fight quite taken out of them.

Custer remained for years on duty in the West, being sent to Dakota in March, 1873, while in July, 1874, he led an expedition to the Black Hills. It might have been supposed that familiarity with Indian methods of warfare would make him wary in dealing with them, but his old habit of impetuous dashes on the enemy clung to him and led in the end to the tragic occurrence in which the brave fellow laid down his life.

This was in Terry's expedition against the Sioux in the spring of 1876, this powerful Indian nation being then in force on the war-path. In this affair Custer, then at the head of a cavalry regiment, was directed to ride up the Rosebud River and cross to the headwaters of the Little Big Horn, there to coöperate with General Gibbon, who was following the valley of the Big Horn. The object of the movement was to surround the Indians and prevent their escape.

On the 25th of June Custer reached the Little Big Horn, having crossed a narrow divide between the two streams. For some time indications of the pres

ence of the Indians had been seen, and they now became so evident that he felt sure the Indians were close at hand. He accordingly divided his command into three detachments, he leading five companies up the stream and sending the others out to right and left on the flanks of the foe, while he struck them in the centre. This was his usual method of attacking the savages, but this time it proved disastrous.

His march brought him directly to the Sioux village, in which nine thousand braves in their war-paint were gathered. His detachments were not visible. One of them had reached the village, but had retreated before he came up. Custer's incautious advance without waiting for Gibbon, and the impetuous charge which he made upon the Indians, were reckless movements which could have but one end. The Sioux in overwhelming numbers attacked his small force, drove them back, and killed company after company, until Custer and forty of his officers and men alone faced them. These few continued to fight desperately, falling one by one, until the last of them perished, not a man being left alive. They had fought well and bravely, defying their foes for three hours, killing many of them, and never ceasing to strike until death ended their defence. number slain was two hundred and sixty-one.

The

No white man remained to tell the story of this slaughter, and it was afterwards learned from the Indians themselves, who told of the daring assault, the desperate struggle, and its fatal end. The field where it took place has since been made a National Cemetery, and a monument has been erected to the memory of Custer and his men. The remains of the brave leader were removed in 1877 and buried in the cemetery at West Point.