By the way, General Custer was an arrogant a**.
"Colonel Custer, a national hero because of his colorful career as a Civil War general and a dashing Indian fighter, had originally been assigned command of the entire Dakota Column. He had angered President Grant, however, by testifying before a congressional committee about corruption in the Indian service, corruption that involved Grant's own brother. In retaliation, the President removed Custer from the command. Only at the last moment did he consent to allow the proud young officer to go along as the commander of the Seventh Cavalry. Some historians have speculated that Custer, a vain and egotistical yet capable man, may have been determined to win back the glorious reputation that Grant had seemingly tarnished."..."Driving his men to exhaustion on a night march, Custer reached the divide between two streams, and at dawn on June 25 his scouts saw the smoke of an enormous encampment in the distance. For whatever reason, whether to have all the glory for himself, or to hit the Indians before they could scatter - or, very possibly, both - the colonel decided not to wait until Terry's June 26 target date. He failed to realize the immensity of the Indian gathering, even though his terrified scouts warned him of it. No matter, for the Seventh, in his opinion, could whip any number!" -- 'Montana a History of Two Centuries', Malone and Roeder
alice