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Custer Monument (West Point)

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Custer Monument
United States
Custer monument next to his grave in the West Point Cemetery
For George Armstrong Custer
Unveiled1879
Location41°23′59.68″N 73°58′1.43″W / 41.3999111°N 73.9670639°W / 41.3999111; -73.9670639
near 
Highland Falls, New York
Burials by war
"Custer"

Custer Monument is a monument at the United States Military Academy Cemetery, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer who was killed along with his immediate command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25 June 1876. Congress approved of a statue, to be made from 20 condemned bronze cannons, and for $10,000, of which $6,000 had been subscribed by citizens of New York.[1] The monument was originally located near the academy's headquarters building near the site of present-day Taylor Hall along Thayer Road. Unveiled in 1879, the pedestal had a bronze statue of Custer wielding a saber and a pistol. Custer's widow and many officers did not approve of this likeness[2] and after only five years, the statue was removed and sent to New York City where Stanford White was supposed to remove the bust, to be displayed in the library. However, after White's murder, its whereabouts have since been lost.[3] The pedestal was moved to Custer's grave site in the West Point Cemetery during the construction of Taylor Hall around 1910. In 1965, a stone obelisk was placed atop the pedestal.[4]

  • The monument and statue at its original location c1880
    The monument and statue at its original location c1880

References

  1. ^ December 28, 1878 copy of the Lake City, Colorado "Silver World," Page 2 Column 1, which can be found here: http://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org
  2. ^ "WEST POINT'S CUSTER STATUE.; MRS. CUSTER CRITICISES THE WORK AND PROTESTS AGAINST DUPLICATING IT IN WASHINGTON" (PDF). New York Times. 22 April 1880. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. ^ Lopez, Kathryn. ""Interrogatory", an interview of the author of Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point". National Review Online. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  4. ^ Lange, Robie S. (1984). Historical Structures Inventory United States Military Academy West Point, NY Vol 2. Washington DC: National Park Service. p. 43.
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