George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer
Character information
Full name	George Armstrong Custer
Also known as	Custer
Status	Deceased (killed in action)
Date of birth	December 5, 1839
Date of death	June 25, 1876
Age	36 (at death)
Gender	Male
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	General
Affiliation	United States 7th Cavalry Regiment
Game information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
First appearance	Custer
Last appearance	Battle of Little Bighorn
Voice actor	Nolan North (original), Jason Spisak (Definitive Edition)

General George Armstrong Custer (1839 – 1876) was a commander of the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment. In the campaign for The WarChiefs, he is a foe of Chayton Black.

Biography

“

Impulsive. Proud. Witty. Tragic. While he'll always be remembered for that fateful day at the Little Big Horn, Custer's life was paradoxical. A fierce warrior who thrived on conflict; a devoted husband adored by his wife; a failed leader who led his men to destruction. Custer clearly loved the western frontier and reveled in his role in shaping it. Nevertheless, as with any historical figure, the drama of his life and its final act remain clouded in legend.

”

George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, and spent most of his childhood with his half-sister and brother-in-law. After leaving the McNeely Normal School, Custer joined the United States Military Academy and soon joined the American Civil War in the Union's 2nd U.S. Cavalry as a Brevet Major General.

After the war, Custer became a Lieutenant Colonel and fought in Red Cloud's War, protecting miners from the Sioux. He would later become famous for losing the Battle of the Little Big Horn, resulting in the largest defeat for the United States in its late 19th century campaigns against resistant Native Americans.

In the game, after refusing to attempt making peace with the Sioux and other local Native American tribes, Custer fights against Chayton Black, Crazy Horse, and large armies of Sioux and Cheyenne soldiers at Little Bighorn, where Custer is killed in battle.

In-game unit

Custer
Unit information
Introduced in	The WarChiefs
Type	Hero Cavalry Heavy cavalry Melee cavalry
Civilization	United States
Statistics
Hit points	5,000
Resists	40% vs. Ranged
Speed	7.5
Line of Sight	24
Ability	Regenerates hit points
XP bounty	40
Melee damage
Attack	45 30 (Trample mode)
Area of Effect	3 (Trample mode)
Rate of Fire	1.5 2.0 (Trample mode)
Siege damage
Attack	14
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Notes
Custer will collapse instead of dying when his hit points reaches 0 and can be revived by having a friendly unit or building around him once he regenerates at least 100 HP

“	Cavalry general.	”
—In-game description

Custer fights with his officer's saber and rides his horse in combat. He has a whopping 5,000 hit points, making him a tough foe to defeat.

Like other heroes, if Custer falls, he will collapse instead of dying and needs to regenerate enough hit points to be rescued by allies. Unlike Explorers but akin to Alain Magnan from Act I: Blood, he can neither collect treasures nor build Trading Posts and Town Centers, and has no special abilities.

In-game dialogue

• Select 1 I'm ready
• Select 2 Yes
• Select 3 What is your command?
• Move 1 I'll do it
• Move 2 I'm going now
• Move 3 Right
• Attack 1 Attack!
• Attack 2 To battle!
• Death
• Grunt 1
• Grunt 2
• Grunt 3
• Revive

Trivia

• While Custer is referred to as a General in-game (in cutscenes, in the history section and its model features a star on each side of the collar of the uniform, used by the rank of Brigadier General at the time) and in the manual, he was actually a Lieutenant Colonel at the Battle of Little Bighorn, though he was a Brevet Major General during the Civil War. This is pointed out by Chayton in the Definitive Edition, after Custer mistakes him for a native Lakota and offers him Firewater, with Chayton making fun of his recent demotion.
• Custer's in-game unit dialogue is recycled with the pitch raised slightly for cavalry and artillery units of Black Family Estate and also for United States units produced in the Artillery Foundry in the Battle of New Orleans scenario as well as Flat-bottomed Boats (with wave sound added to "Move" lines) in the The WarChiefs campaign, save for the line "What is your command?", likely because of the distinctive accent with which Custer speaks it. They are also used as is by the United States Hussars in the Battle of New Orleans scenario.
• He is also one of the random names for the United States General in the Definitive Edition (as "George Custer").

Gallery

General Custer model.

Other side of the Custer model.

General Custer side model.