General George A. Custer and his Dogs

General George A. Custer and his dogs.

(Her face looks a lot like our English Setter Sue)

This picture was made in Virginia during the Civil War. Custer is pictured with a Dog.

Custer was an avid dog lover, as dogs are often nearby in pictures of Custer. It was rare to find dogs in early photographs because the subjects were required to hold perfectly still for several minutes.

George Armstrong Custer Hunting Buffalo

This photograph was taken some time after the Civil War. Custer is pictured on the plains, with Indian Scouts. He is shown in camp with his dogs. Custer was often pictured with dogs nearby.

May 20, 1862

Custer on staff of Gen. Fitz-John Porter; Lieutenants William G. Jones and George A. Custer reclining; taken May 20, 1862

General and Mrs. George Armstrong Custer (Libby) after their wedding in February 1864

Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Autumn 2005, by Potter, James E

Custer's dogs stayed with him constantly, and they often appear in photographs taken during his service on the plains. Reports from western posts frequently mention bird dogs. In 1889 two officers at Fort Totten, Dakota Territory, who had received three Irish setters from back East were predicting a "great slaughter of birds this fall." read on...