Custer Monument (West Point)
Encyclopedia
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 entire command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
on 26 June 1876. 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 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, it's whereabouts have since been lost. 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.
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
Cemetery
West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for American Revolutionary War soldiers and early West Point inhabitants long before 1817 when it was officially...
, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
who was killed along with his entire command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
on 26 June 1876. 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 and after only five years, the statue was removed and sent to New York City where Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
was supposed to remove the bust, to be displayed in the library. However after White's murder, it's whereabouts have since been lost. The pedestal was moved to Custer's grave site in the West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for American Revolutionary War soldiers and early West Point inhabitants long before 1817 when it was officially...
during the construction of Taylor Hall around 1910. In 1965, a stone obelisk was placed atop the pedestal.