He had been one of the most famous military figures in America — a celebrated Civil War cavalry commander, a veteran of Plains campaigns, a public figure whose exploits were celebrated in newspapers and popular culture.

His death, and the deaths of the 210 men who died with him, was a national shock.

In the centennial summer of 1876, when America was celebrating a hundred years of national existence, the news that an entire cavalry command had been annihilated by Indigenous peoples was deeply disorienting.

The cultural response was immediate and massive.

Paintings, dime novels, newspaper accounts, and eventually films began to construct the narrative of Custer’s Last Stand — the brave soldiers dying heroically against overwhelming odds, their deaths a tragedy that demanded vengeance.

The narrative served multiple purposes.