I've got about five books on Custer including Custer's luck, but the one I like most is the fictional account of him that George macdonal Frazer puts together in "Flashman and the Redskins". Taking all that as background, the picture I have of him is extremely brave and not very bright (maybe I'm recalling Fletcher Pratt's description of him as "a gallant idiot who could lead a charge and not do much else") with a deep sense of personal honor and a great need for glory. (I read somewhere that he was hoping to stampede the Republican convention of 1876 into nominating a new war hero and wanted some glory to make it happen) So-- scumbag? Not IMHO. The worst thing that can happen to a nation or people is to have a really bright charismatic leader who is, with the wisdom of history, just plain WRONG. And the prime example of this is Robert E. Lee. Without him the war would have been over by the end of 1862.