- Charles, good to see you. - Welcome.
Welcome home, general. Welcome home.
We're proud of you...
...and proud to know that one of our townsmen has won such glory.
- You're a credit to Monroe and the Army. - Thank you, sir.
Now, the parade will form on Elm Street...
...turn into D Street, cross the parkway...
...and then march right up Main Street. Kindly stay on the sidewalks.
Those wanting to march along, do so after the committee.
The band will lead the parade, followed by myself and General...
Libby.
- Are you forgetting yourself? - It's all right.
Everything's very proper. We're engaged.
Well, splendid. Splendid.
- We're going to be married. - Today.
I brought my regimental chaplain. General Sheridan is best man.
- With your permission. - My permission?
Well, now, of course, general, I shall be honored to give it.
You mustn't be too impetuous.
There's the announcement and arrangement. If you marry today, you can't have them.
I shall have General Custer, and he's what I set out to get.
Libby, this is positively unmaidenly.
After today, that won't matter.
Where did Miss Libby get herself such a fine, handsome man?
Why, child, I found him in a teacup.
There is two gentlemen to see General Custer, Miss Libby.
They claim their name is Sharp.
Thank you, Jane. Let Callie attend to the callers.
- Yes, ma'am. - Callie, has General Custer returned?
No, ma'am, not since he left at his usual time this morning.
I'll receive the callers here. Tell them the general is expected soon.
I'll tell them he's downtown taking care of some business.
I don't hold with you, Major Smith. I don't hold with you at all, sir.
If Lee had concentrated his artillery, and succeeded in enfilading Round Top...
...we would have been licked at Gettysburg.
- Why didn't he, general? - Well, who knows?
Every great soldier has a bad day, and perhaps it was Lee's turn.
He who drinks and runs away lives to drink another day.
Thank you, Joe. Step up to the bar, boys. My pleasure. Set them up, Joe.
Mr. Sharp, the money doesn't matter, but what you offer is the answer to a prayer.
I'd almost given up hope of George finding anything suitable in civil life.
We know of no one else so well-qualified.
So you're here at last.
I'm afraid I've been boring these gentlemen dreadfully.
They'll get no sympathy from me.
Madam, until this afternoon, I'd envied General Custer only his fame.
Oh, Mr. Sharp.
But you'll excuse me. I have some flowers I must cut in the garden.
I hope you'll forgive this intrusion, Custer.
The North and South have forgotten their difficulties, so I hope we can forget ours.
May I present my father, William Sharp. General Custer.
- How do you do? - How do you do?
Do you know, sir, I was joking with the adjutant general about you last week.
- Taipe? - Yes, Taipe.
You stole his horse on one occasion, it seems.
That's right. A fine animal.
- Much too good for him. Drink? - Thank you.
We've come from Washington especially to see you, general.
Indeed? Why?
Because there's money in fame, these days.
We're offering you the presidency of the Western Railroad Trading Company...
...at a salary of $ 10,000.
It's a corporation I organized for developing the Dakota Territories.
But...
...what use could I be to a concern of that kind? I'm a soldier.
Well, you're a national hero, Custer.
Your name would make it easy for us to get government concessions...
...such as trading monopolies at Army posts.
It would go far in selling stock to the public.
My name?
I see.
What's the stock worth?
Nothing, naturally, until it begins to earn dividends.
Then I'm not interested.
My name stands for something.
I'll not gamble its meaning on the success or failure of any business.
Not interested.
General, I'm afraid you've an inclination to be a romantic fool.
An admirable one, no doubt, but nonetheless a fool.
Can a man of your distinction bear the thought of living off his wife?
- I know it hasn't occurred to you... - It's occurred to me.
We offer a chance to serve the nation as you did in battle.
The company will bring civilization to a waste of territory...
...which is now in the hands of savages.
- Why, it's as fine a... - That's enough.
I'll gamble. I'll gamble with anything. My money, my sword, my life, if necessary.
But there's one thing I won't gamble with, and that's my good name.
Good day, gentlemen.
You're excited, general. Now...
- It's not an offer that comes twice... - No, once is enough.
Quite enough. Good day, gentlemen.
What did the Sharps want of you, George?
Only my name, for a stock promotion.
Only your name?
Yes, they wanted to hire it for $ 10,000 a year.
It's a lot of money...
...but we've five dogs and 11 horses now.
What could we have done with it?
Well, think of all the bags of onions we could have bought.
To keep me away from you, I suppose.
Aren't you happy here, Mr. Custer?
Mrs. Custer...
...I've never been so happy in my life.
Mrs. Custer, sir.
General Sheridan should have warned me, ma'am.
- I thought Uncle Phil advised you that... - He advised me of your coming.
He didn't warn me that I would meet the most beautiful girl I ever saw.
You're very kind, General Scott. And very embarrassing.
Upon my soul, ma'am, you make me regret this unchivalrous age.
If ever a lady's hand deserved to be saluted, it is certainly yours.
Forgive an old soldier.
It was the custom in his youth.
Did Uncle Phil tell you why I came, General Scott?
No, he said it was a matter for my decision, in any event.
- It's about my husband. - Of course, Custer.
I should have asked, how is the lucky dog?
Not so lucky, I'm afraid.
Well, that's bad. Is he in ill health?
Not exactly, General Scott.
But inactivity is doing something to him.
Undermining him. George will never be himself out of the Army.
He's not happy.
Even though he pretends to be.
General Scott, can't you put him back into active service?
My dear, I know what eats a man who has endured the tension of war for years.
It's like a drug. A man can't live without it.
Please, General Scott. Please.
Mrs. Custer, I'm bound by the seniority rule in making appointments.
The rule of the Army.
Come, come, my child. You're unduly distressed about George.
- Time is a healer. Time will cure him. - No, no. It will destroy him.
There's something you haven't told me.
Isn't there?
It's very difficult for me to tell you this, but I'm afraid. So afraid.
He's been drinking.
So much. Much more than he knows.
- I see. - I can't bear to think of him in degradation.
General Scott, you've got to do something to save him.
We owe him so much. All of us.
There, there, my dear. You're quite right.
We do owe him a lot.
Yes, sir. That is a handsome piece.
Uncle Phil was sending the watch when I popped in.
The brigade asked him to choose it.
Those are great boys. Great days.
And the little miniature of you is beautiful.
The chain belonged to Father. I always wanted you to have it.
It's beautiful.
- Here's your morning mail, general. - Thank you.
That must have been a dull trip.
It wasn't so dull. I did a lot of shopping, and it was wonderful to see Uncle Phil.
I missed you.
How do you like your eggs this morning, boiled or fried?
- What? - I said, how do you like your eggs?
Eggs? Sure.
Eggs. Boiled and fried.
Scrambled, poached and rubbed in your hair.
- The man's plumb crazy. - Libby. Libby, look.
I'm on the active list.
Lieutenant colonel, raising a regiment of cavalry at Fort Lincoln.
They passed up 50 senior officers to give me the job.
Oh, darling, how wonderful.
I'm so glad for you. But where is Fort Lincoln?
In the Dakota Territory, I think. Wait. I'll get the map. Sit down. Sit down.
Callie. General Custer and I are going away.
You must pack the things I mentioned this morning.
But, Miss Libby, what about all your lovely things? Your china, your silver...
...and all your pretty clothes?
Well, I'll have to leave those behind.
Callie...
...I'll have to leave you too.
Miss Libby, ain't y'all gonna have nobody to fix for you while you're up there?
I'll get along, Callie.
It's ridiculous.
Giving up your home and your life.
I hope the general appreciates what you're doing.
Fort Lincoln. Fort Lincoln. Here it is, see?
You go by rail to Bismarck...
...and from then on, by wagon trail.
Move over, before I cut the rest of your tail off.
- I beg your pardon? - I said, move over, you dirty Ethiopian...
...son of a blue-bellied Mohawk!
You mean the horse.
Stop that, you ornery, owl-faced floozy, or I'll spit in your ear.
You made it.
Shucks, that ain't nothing. I can spit in a prairie dog's eye at 50 feet.
Ain't nobody in these parts can beat California Joe when it comes to spitting.
And who's California Joe?
Who...?
- That's me. - Oh, I see.
You come from California.
No, ma'am. No.
Then why do they call you California Joe?
Why, I guess because I...
Because I've been aiming there for 27 years...
...and it looks like I'll be aiming there for 27 more years, with these...
...Indians on the warpath here again.
Are we likely to see any today?
No more likely than you are to see them soldiers in their fancy pants from the fort.
How is old California? Taught you how to chew tobacco?
No, he's been teaching me about Indians.
Let me tell you, he has no respect for soldiers, sir.
He hasn't? What's wrong with him?
Everything they don't know is about Indians.
Indians is too ignorant to fight right. They fight wrong every time.
That's why the soldiers always get licked.
To lick an Indian, you gotta fight them like an Indian.
Might be something to that.
How would you like a job?
What, me?
Be a soldier, and wear them fancy pants...
...and wash my ears with store soap and sleep in a bed?
No, sir!
My business is shooting, not saluting.
I can't salute, anyway. I got rheumatism in my saluting arm. I...
Well! I'm a dirty... Look!
- What's wrong? What do you see? - Skin your eyeballs, son.
There's a redskin over that rock yonder.
- Indians? - One, maybe two.
On your belly, ma'am.
After them, men.
George. George.
Come on. Get out of here.
Signal your people. Drive back my horses, or I'll hang you at the fort gate.
You give word?
- No kill with rope? - I give word.
Now signal.
I speak.
Why you dirty, moth-eaten, cockeyed son of a rat!
If it ain't old Crazy Horse...
...chief of the Sioux.
What a shivaree there's gonna be when they drag you to Fort Lincoln on that rope.
We'll take him there. He can cool off for 60 days.
Maybe he'll be good.
Tie him up. Put him in the wagon.
We better vamoose out of here quick...
...before the rest come to get the chief.
I think you're right, Joe.
California, California.
What did she say?
She wants to know if she can name the papoose after me.
How charming.
Turn out the guard. Get rid of that cigar.
Guard, turn out.
Look at that guard.
Filthy as mountain goats. They don't even know how to stand.
The regiment's just been mustered in.
- We haven't a colonel yet. - You've got one now.
Why aren't there any patrols? Why are you all hiding in this fort?
This fort isn't here to protect the Army. The Army should protect the trail.
Crazy Horse's Sioux are raiding. We've orders to wait.
You have, have you?
Bring out that Indian.
I'd like you to see, Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is...
...what's been holding up a whole regiment of U.S. Cavalry.
- Crazy Horse. - Yeah, string him up.
Back, back. All of you, back.
Or I'll turn him loose and let him chase you.
You give word, Long Hair. Shoot now. No rope.
I give word, Crazy Horse. I keep my word.
Tell off a detail. Take him to the guardhouse.
Yes, sir. You four men, take the prisoner.
- And see that he's well treated. - Yes, sir.
You'll find headquarters straight ahead, sir.
Out of the way.
California, why are Indians in the fort?
They're trading for rifles.
Rifles?
Libby.
You go on. I'll return shortly.
California, take the wagons on to my quarters.
Sure. Say, son, about that joining the Army. I calculate I could change my mind...
...if I didn't have to wear them fancy pants. And no saluting.
Up there, hoghead. Come on!
Where's the owner? I want to see him.
Boss.
- Well, look who's here. - You.
- Are you in charge here? - Yep.
General manager of all the company's trading stores.
- You turned down a good thing, Custer. - Colonel Custer to you.
I'm in command here, and don't you ever forget it.
- Tell me what you're selling rifles for. - For $ 75 apiece.
Civil War surplus bought from the government.
You're selling them to Indians? Why are they in the fort?
They're friendlies.
Friendlies.
I certainly hope you're right, Sharp.
These Winchesters will outrange any of our cavalry rifles, and you know it.
Attention. Commanding officer.
Sergeant, there's two men brawling outside.
Have them arrested for drunkenness. They're supposed to be cavalrymen.
- Yes, sir. - At ease, men.
Well, colonel, I hope you like your recruits.
They're about the worst lot of rustlers, gunmen and outcasts that I've ever seen.
The scum of the earth.
It seems to be your business to worsen them.
Now, look, Sharp. I want this bar closed.
I want it closed now.
It is run under a government franchise. You can't close it.
- Sergeant. - Yes, sir?
Turn out a squad of armed men.
Close this place up.
Men...
...this bar is a lawful business.
The company's got one in every Army post.
Now, you know your rights, boys.
Nobody can tell you how to spend your pay, right?
Wait a minute, men.
Wait a minute.
I have to admit that what Mr. Sharp says is perfectly correct.
I've no legal reason to close this bar.
None whatsoever.
And I won't...
...providing Mr. Sharp doesn't mind being taken...
...and slung through the mirror every time it's open...
...commencing one minute from now.
Close it up.
Now, listen, men...
...I'm not doing this to be a bluenose.
I know it's tough, not being able to drink.
It's tough on me too...
...maybe it's tougher.
But when I break down and drink...
...is when this bar is going to open again.
I don't ask any man to stick to something I can't stick to myself...
...and that's the way it will be in this regiment.
Gun no work. You fix.
Safety catch. See?
Here.
What did I tell you?
Them dirty, lying, flea-bitten friendlies let him go.
Friendlies? Any Indian with $ 75 is a friendly to Sharp.
Sergeant.
Put a stop to that rifle trading. I want every Indian put outside.
- Very well. - Have the trumpeter sound the call.
Yes, sir.
You know, Joe...
...in a way, I don't mind that Indian getting off.
He's the only cavalryman I've seen around. But we'll put a stop to that.
We're responsible for the protection of 100,000 square miles of territory.
And against us are ranged thousands of the finest light cavalry on earth.
I found that out this morning.
It's a big job, gentlemen.
And it's gonna need a fine regiment.
Our job is to make this the finest regiment that the United States ever saw.
I needn't tell most of you that a regiment is more than just 600 disciplined soldiers.
Men die...
...but a regiment lives on.
Because a regiment has an immortal soul of its own.
Well, the way to begin is to find it...
...to find something that belongs to us alone.
Something to give us that pride in ourselves, that will make men endure...
...and if necessary, die...
...with their boots on.
As for the rest, it's easy.
Since it's only hard work...
...hard riding and hard fighting.
Thank you. I know I can count on you.
- Major Meyers, sir. - Pleasure.
- Mr. Cooper. - Cooper.
Captain Elliot, sir.
- Captain Thompson, sir. - Thompson.
Butler, sir.
Butler."Queen's Own" Butler.
- How did you get here? - Become quite a bally Yankee.
Rode behind you at Hanover and fancied I'd see some sport out West.
Well, I hope you do.
Do you know that you've haunted me ever since I met you at Monroe?
- Haunted, sir? - Yes. I've cursed you regularly.
Every time I tried to think of that song. What was it?
Oh, "Garryowen"?
"Garryowen." Come play it for us.
Excuse me, gentlemen. This is an important song.
What are the blighters doing, playing ring-around-the-rosey?
The dirty, moth-eaten...
It's a signal!
They're whupped! The dirty buzzard eggs, they're whupped!
He wants a peace powwow with Long Hair.
Long Hair.
Crazy Horse.
Crazy Horse, war chief Sioux, speak with Long Hair.
War chief, great white father.
- I listen to my brother. - My people want make peace.
They've lost many braves, are tired of war.
They will give up the plains forever.
They will give up their lodges by the running streams.
They will give up their hunting grounds where the buffalo graze.
They will give all up...
...but one place.
Speak. What is this place?
They will not give up the Black Hills...
...for there, the spirits of our fathers dwell...
...and there the gods have made their tepees.
But all else that is my people we give up...
...but Black Hills.
I will bear my brother's words to the great white father.
Let Long Hair return with word of great white father...
...that no white man will set foot on sacred soil...
...and Crazy Horse and his brothers will smoke peace pipe forever.
If the great white father gives word to my brother's people...
...then Long Hair and his long knives will defend Black Hills...
...against all white men who seek to profane them.
That is the word of Long Hair.
Long Hair's word good one.
But the word of the great white father is broken word.
Hear me now, Long Hair.
If this word broken now...
...not only Sioux, but the Cheyenne, the Oglala...
...the Miniconjou, the Blackfeet, the Sans Arcs...
...and every living tribe between mountains and great waters...
...will gather in one last battle.
It will be the end of themselves...
...their gods, the spirits of their fathers...
...and of their enemies.
Crazy Horse spoke.
We're here because the company's facing bankruptcy on account of...
...the idiotic treaty with the Sioux. - You don't have to tell me.
Last year I outfitted a handful of settlers from 20 stores.
There'll be no settlers till the railroad's pushed on. The only route...
...is through the Black Hills, the gateway to the West.
A few thousand savages have stopped the march of American civilization.
Why can't you do something at Washington?
That was why I brought Taipe to this job of special commissioner.
What is the job?
It's to coordinate the civil and military administration of Indian territories.
While he's on the ground, we can consider local means of unlocking the Black Hills gate.
Well, you'll find none here.
The 7th Cavalry has every pass and river completely covered.
It's impossible to sneak an outfit through. I have to know.
No doubt you do, but you're talking about single outfits.
- Suppose there were thousands. - Thousands? What would bring thousands...
...of outfits to Dakota?
- Gold. - Gold?
Well, there's no gold in the Black Hills.
Who can say what's to be found in the Black Hills, huh?
Say, it'd bring them in in swarms, all right. Start a second California gold rush.
But what about the Sioux?
That's where the commissioner comes in. Treaty or no treaty...
...we cannot allow thousands of Americans to be massacred.
The forces of General Crook and General Terry...
...will move between them and the Sioux.
Well, Ned, do you see any practical objection?
- Only Custer. - What do you mean?
- What can he do? - You don't know Custer.
You get him mad, and there isn't anything he won't do.
There isn't anything his regiment won't do.
They could blockade Bismarck, blow up the railroad bridges.
Then we'll get rid of Colonel Custer as a first measure, eh, Taipe?
I'm all for that.
But I shouldn't advise doing it through official channels.
I think I know how to get rid of Colonel Custer to everybody's satisfaction.
- Turn out the guard! Commanding officer! - Fall in!
Present arms!
Order arms!
- Hello, Roberts. How's your wife? - Better, sir, thanks to Mrs. Custer.
Good, good. Now, look, tomorrow...
...shine the squadron up, bright and snappy. I'm reviewing it for the commissioner.
Without officers? Right, sir.
Stand over there. Let me look at you. My word, you're lovelier than ever.
George, put me down. We've got company.
- What? - Yes. I've got a surprise for you.
A surprise?
Mrs. Taipe, may I present my husband, General Custer.
- A pleasure. - Mrs. Sharp, General Custer.
- How do you do? - Madam.
And here are some old friends of yours.
Well.
- What's this? - Welcome home, colonel.
A little surprise for you.
Yes, this is a surprise. Haven't seen you since you retired.
After the war, I found Army life a trifle monotonous, Custer.
He's here as a special commissioner, you know.
I should have paid my respects to you as a representative of the government.
That's the regulation. But there's no need to stand on ceremony here.
I congratulate you on the reputation you've made for your regiment.
- Thank you. - Let's drink a toast to it.
- Toast to the 7th Cavalry. - Right.
You're not gonna drink this toast in water.
Yes, this is the drink of the 7th Cavalry.
Well, to the sober 7th Cavalry.
I'm sorry you won't see the whole regiment on parade.
Most of it's in the Black Hills. But I can promise you that tomorrow...
...you'll take the salute from one of the finest squadrons of cavalry ever in review.
There'll be no officers on parade? Very irregular, sir.
That's because I want you to see the men who fought 36 engagements...
...who cleared and pacified this frontier single-handed...
...who sweated and starved day after day against impossible odds.
- There's no denying their record. - It was an idea that made them.
An idea and a song.
You should have seen them the day they were mustered in. Derelicts...
...criminals who joined because they couldn't make a living.
But wait till you see them now.
Wait till you see what discipline, devotion to duty and human understanding can do.
You'll see men who aren't afraid to look death in the face with pride.
Not for any measly $ 13 a month, but just because they've got pride in their regiment.
Go take the salute. You've good reason to.
You and every other civilian in the United States.
- What's the meaning of this outrage? - I think I know.
If I was you, Mr. Sharp, I'd vamoose.
- Custer's liable to go loco about this. - I'm not getting out.
Have those bung-starters handy when Goldilocks arrives.
He'll never close this bar again.
This is none of your affair, Custer.
We... We opened by authority of the commissioner.
The drinks were free to the men in honor of his visit.
Stop it! Stop it, Custer! You're destroying private property. It's an order!
- This bar opened by my authority. - Your authority?
If your men are drunken sots, that's your responsibility.
Sots?
You cheap, bootlicking...
You contemptible parasite!
I'll see that he's relieved of his command.
He'll be in Washington for a court martial.
I wish you'd stopped in Chicago and seen Uncle Phil.
We would only have been in Washington one day later, and he might've helped you.
I don't think anyone can help me now.
I struck a representative of the government.
And I'd do it again.
When the facts are known, who in all the world could blame you?
- You. - I?
Yes, I should have thought of you.
This mess has made me realize how selfish I've been.
My dear.
Taking you away from your home, comfort...
...peace of mind. - Darling...
...I knew what I was doing when I married you.
But I didn't know what I was doing to you.
- I've made you give up everything. - I love you.
- Springfield! Five-minute stop, five minutes. - Why don't you get a breath of fresh air?
No, I don't think so. There may be reporters around, and I don't want to see anyone.
Is there anything I can get you, magazine, cigars?
Nothing. Maybe a newspaper. You better take a little walk yourself.
You've been cooped up here long enough.
- Papers, papers. - Paper.
- Have you a Chicago or Washington paper? - Chicago Record Herald, just out.
- All about the big gold strike in Black Hills. - The Black Hills in Dakota?
Yes. It's bigger than the one in California.
Look at this.
Look.
Gold.
"Strike in the Black Hills.
The stampede started when an Indian squaw tendered gold for supplies...
...in the Western Railroad Land and Trading Company at Fort Lincoln."
"Thousands of people rushing into the Black Hills."
That's what Mrs. Taipe meant. She said thousands were coming to Dakota...
...and advised me to buy stock.
- Mrs. Taipe said that? - Yes, the day you came back to the fort.
I didn't repeat it. I didn't think it important.
The day I came back to the fort...
...Mrs. Taipe knew then that these people were coming.
But, Libby, don't you see?
This Indian woman came into the fort yesterday.
- Then that must mean... - There's no gold. It's a conspiracy...
...to break the peace treaty. Yes, and what happened at the review was a part of it.
They had to get rid of me, and no wonder.
I'd have hanged them all from the fort gates, Taipe and the rest.
I'd have burnt the railroad bridges.
And I gave my word to Crazy Horse that the Sioux...
The Sioux.
Why, Libby, those fools don't know what they've done.
Conductor. Conductor.
I'm saying that the commissioner is Sharp's bought man.
- He has an interest... - I object.
Objection sustained.
I'm sorry, but you must try to confine your testimony to actual proof of conspiracy.
I'm here to tell you Sharp's company tricked thousands of people...
...into violating Indian territory with a tale of gold.
- And Taipe was a party to that plot. - That's an accusation.
What facts can prove it?
Weeks before there was talk of this so-called gold...
...Taipe's wife said that people...
- I object to such testimony. It's hearsay. - Sustained.
We can hear no evidence of that nature. It's inadmissible.
Inadmissible?
Do you think you'll keep me from testifying by legal skulduggery?
- Do you think I'd lie? - No, colonel, but you're not a lawyer.
The testimony you're giving is hearsay, the words of another person.
- It's never admissible. - Never?
Except in the case of a dying declaration...
...where words are spoken in knowledge of approaching death.
You'll have plenty of evidence within a few weeks. The treaty's been broken.
Within weeks, thousands will be massacred in Black Hills.
That's why I blasted this open in the press.
- Now you talk about legal technicalities. - There need be no apprehension, gentlemen.
Generals Terry and Crook have orders to concentrate forces in Yellowstone.
Three thousand American soldiers should be a match for 3000 Sioux.
Why, you fool. Those troops are infantry, useless against Indians.
And they won't find any 3000 Sioux.
The sanctuary of the entire red race is being violated.
They'll find every tribe in the West ready to overwhelm them.
Not only Sioux, but Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Sans Arcs, all the rest of them.
And who's to blame them? Not I, gentlemen.
If I were an Indian, I'd fight beside Crazy Horse to the last drop of my blood.
It's in Custer's interest to be alarmist. He's relieved of command...
...awaiting court martial, but the War Department doesn't share his fears.
Especially as among the forces ordered into action is the celebrated 7th Cavalry...
...which boasts itself able to defend the frontier single-handed.
Colonel Custer, have you any further testimony to place before the committee?
None.
Then I move we adjourn, gentlemen.
Was it that bad?
I'll start assembling a division at once.
But it'll take time, Custer. Time. Troops on the frontier will have to be sacrificed.
Including the 7th Cavalry.
What else can I do?
There's this.
Get my court martial postponed.
Get my command restored to me.
And let you commit suicide?
No, thank you.
You don't owe anybody that.
Sheridan, do you remember what you said to me after Winchester?
You said, "If there's ever anything you want from me...
...including my right arm, don't ask, just take it."
I won't do it. You don't owe those bloodsuckers anything.
I'm asking you, now.
There's Libby to be considered.
I wouldn't do it if I could. But I can't.
Taipe would never let it get through.
The only man who could do it is the president.
Since these charges have all but wrecked his administration...
...Ulysses S. Grant hates the sound of your name.
Colonel Custer.
I regret the president declines to see you. He instructs that any business you have...
...shall be conducted through the War Department.
I'll remind you, sir, that I'm president of the United States.
I'm not here to see the president, Grant.
I'm here to see a soldier.
You've caused plenty of trouble, Custer.
Sticking your nose into politics.
- I want my regiment back. - All you'll get from me is a court martial.
To the devil with a court martial. I want my regiment back, Grant.
Tell me why I should give it to you.
I'll tell you why.
Because you know how a man feels when he's broken...
...when he's left behind and his regiment's marching out.
You know how he feels, Grant...
...because you had a taste of it yourself.
Get out.
All right.
My orders was to close up as soon as you got back.
That's all right.
I just got in.
And am I glad to see you.
I'm going bughouse in this joint.
Since you've been relieved of command, not a soldier has set foot in this place.
Yes?
Indeed.
That's all right. You needn't bother closing up.
Tell Mr. Sharp I want to see him. And leave us alone together.
Oh, it's all right. There won't be any disturbance.
Say, Custer's outside, wants to see you.
I...
I gave orders to close the bar as soon as I heard you took command again.
That's all right, Sharp.
Remember I told you once that the day I took a drink...
...you could open the bar up? - Yeah.
Well, I feel like drinking tonight.
Things have been pretty bad.
You wanna join me?
Why, sure, sure. Why not?
- We'll let bygones be bygones, huh? - Sure.
Say, hitting it kind of hard, aren't you?
No point in half measures. Drink up.
I... I hear the 7th's marching out this morning...
...to make contact with Crook and Terry at the Little Bighorn.
Yes.
The 7th's marching out.
Let's drink to the 7th.
Let's drink to them again.
Last time I drank it in water, remember?
Well. Wait a minute, you...
Drink it.
If the outfits don't fight through, you're liable to have a lot of Sioux on your hands.
Oh, yes.
Yes, quite a lot of Sioux, Sharp.
But the greater the odds, the greater the glory.
Come on, Sharp. Let's drink to glory.
You always were a great one for glory, Custer.
Remember...? Remember that day you came to West Point...
...and you talked to me about the statues?
Yes, yes, I remember.
Well, you got glory.
And what did glory get you?
A two-bit job...
...and a... And a court martial. That's all.
Well, that's not enough.
Now we're gonna drink to something that's... That's worth having.
Something they'll kiss your feet for having.
Here's to money.
- And long may she jingle. - Money.
You may be right about money, Sharp.
Quite right.
- But there's one thing to be said for glory. - And what's that?
You can take glory with you...
...when it's your time to go.
California.
Well, now, let's see.
Anything I've forgotten?
- Field glasses? - Yep.
- Compass. - Got it.
- Your watch. - Watch, no.
You know, they ought to make you quartermaster general.
Every time I go into the field, I'm the best-equipped man in the regiment.
Oh, look at that.
Broken.
- What? - The chain.
I won't be able to take this with me.
It'll be the first time you've gone in without it.
Yes. Well, there's no time to have it fixed...
...and I don't want to take a chance on losing it.
I'll leave it here.
Not much more time.
Here's your cartridge belt.
You know, I'm sure you're the first soldier that ever became a general...
...without letting his belt out.
But you wait until we get that staff job in Washington, after this campaign's over.
I'm gonna grow a big tummy on me like General Winfield Scott, you know.
And we'll grow fat and happy together.
- Together. - And people will say:
"Don't tell me life in the Dakotas was hardship.
Look at General and Mrs. Custer. They certainly grew fat and happy on it."
You...
You have been happy here, haven't you, Libby?
Don't I look happy?
Well, now. Let's see, what else?
Oh, my orders.
- I put them in that drawer, over there. - I'll get it.
Well, what's this?
- "My life with General Custer." - Oh, darling, that's my diary.
- I didn't know you kept one. - It's a record of our life.
It wouldn't interest you. Just silly things that seem important to a woman.
"Tomorrow, my husband leaves...
...and I cannot help but feel that my last happy days are ended.
A premonition of disaster such as I have never known...
...is weighing me down.
I try to shut it into my heart, but it is almost unbearable.
I pray God I be not asked to walk on alone."
You know, I probably wrote that, or something like it...
...every time you went away.
Even for a day's journey.
You know how foolish women are.
Every parting has its own fears and anxieties.
Of course.
I often feel like that myself.
But it... It has its bright side too.
The more sadness in parting, the more joy in the reunion.
Boots and saddles.
Goodbye.
Walking through life with you, ma'am...
...has been a very gracious thing.
Attention!
Sir, the regiment is formed.
Forward...
...ho!
Scouts out.
- Gray Eagle. - Long Hair. Black Hills.
Go to lodge of Sitting Bull.
Let him call Sioux chiefs to war council.
Halt!
Meet us on the Little Bighorn at sunup.
Well, partner, the scouts are back.
What's the report?
- Any news of Crook's column? - Plenty of them, all scalped.
- Dead long? - Oh, about a week, I reckon.
Crazy Horse attacked Crook's outfit coming down a stream and massacred them.
And then Crook, he hightailed it back to where he come from, Crook did.
He got away?
Where's Crazy Horse now?
Camped on the other side of Little Bighorn. Headed to massacre Terry's outfit.
Then he's between us.
And I can't reach Terry in time.
Crazy Horse must know we're here.
More darn Indians camped over on Little Bighorn than grasshoppers in a cornfield.
Every kind of a goldarn Indian you can think of!
You know, partner, we better vamoose out of here, good and pronto.
We're not vamoosing.
I'm going to attack.
Attack?
It's Terry or us.
What chance has he got against thousands of Indians?
What...? What better chance have you got?
It's a cavalry job, Joe.
I can do more damage.
And if I can do enough...
...it'll give Terry a chance to stand them off until Sheridan comes from Bismarck.
I'm wondering if I'm ever gonna get to California.
- Tell Mr. Butler I want to see him. - All right, partner. I mean, yes, sir.
- You sent for me, sir? - Yes, Butler.
Take this letter into Fort Lincoln tonight.
- Me? Tonight? - Tonight.
- It's important. - Must be...
...if it needs your bally adjutant to play postman at a time like this.
Why are you asking me to go back with it?
Well, for one thing, you're an Englishman, not an American.
Not an American? What do you Yankees think you are?
The only real Americans are on the other side of the hill...
...with feathers in their hair.
You're probably right about that.
But there's 6000 of them...
...and less than 600 of us.
The regiment's being sacrificed, Butler.
I wouldn't want to see a foreigner butchered in a deal like this.
Sporting of you to think of it that way.
I'll remind you, sir, I'm a member of the mess of the 7th U.S. Cavalry.
Fancy walking into the service club in Piccadilly if the regiment...
Get somebody else to post your blinking letter.
Thanks, Queen's Own.
Just so long as you know.
I'll get someone else.
You'll pay for this, Custer.
There's a law in this country against abduction. You'll go to jail for it.
Maybe, Sharp, maybe.
What do you think you're doing? Cut me loose.
Say, what is all this? What does it mean?
- It means you're free. - Free?
I don't know where I am, what day it is.
It's about dawn on the 25th of June.
You're on the Rosebud Ridge above Little Bighorn River. The way home's due east.
The way home? From the Little Bighorn?
Why, this whole country's swarming with Sioux!
That's right, Sharp, it is.
Why, it's murder. What chance will I have?
About the same chance as the thousands of poor devils...
...you sent in here with that lying tale about the gold.
I say it's murder. I won't go.
You don't have to, Sharp.
It's for you to choose.
What do you mean?
You mean...
- You mean you'll leave me here? - No.
The regiment rides in about an hour. You can ride with it if you want.
Where is the regiment riding?
To hell, Sharp...
...or to glory.
It depends on one's point of view.
Not dead long.
Big war party go.
Sioux!
Forward rank, ho!
Draw saber!
Charge!
Fight on foot!
You dirty yellowbellies!
Oh, looks like I'll never get to...
Maybe you were right...
...about glory.
But for the desperate attack of the 7th Cavalry...
...Terry's force would've been wiped out, squatters massacred...
...the whole frontier overrun, Bismarck itself destroyed.
I'll see that the regiment gets due recognition from Congress.
Let me remind you that all Custer said came true.
Every Indian gathered to defend the Black Hills...
...and the troops which you sent against them were overwhelmed.
The public has begun to wonder if some of the other things...
...he tried to say might not have been true.
By what authority do you talk to me like this?
By authority of the U.S. president.
He had an opportunity to tell everything at the congressional inquiry.
- He had a fair hearing. - A fair hearing, Taipe?
I heard them tell him that his testimony was inadmissible, except as a dying declaration.
Well, Custer's dead...
...but you're going to hear him speak.
You have something to say, Libby?
I have here a letter from my husband...
...addressed to the nation.
It contains nothing with which you are not familiar.
Only a restatement of the evidence he attempted to put before Congress.
That evidence was ruled hearsay, mere hearsay.
My husband wrote this letter on the morning of June the 25th...
...in anticipation of his death on that day.
He believed it to be what the committee called a dying declaration...
...and as such, admissible in a court of law.
You hear that? If that letter gets out, we'll be lynched!
- Well, say something, man. - It doesn't seem to matter, Taipe.
My son chose to go to his death with the 7th Cavalry.
And I think I know why.
There is a price for which it can be bought. Colonel Custer's price.
Well, what is it? Name it.
The company must be dissolved.
The company is dissolved.
Mr. Taipe, you must resign your office as commissioner.
- Resign? - And before you leave this room.
And there's another price, General Sheridan. The price the administration must pay.
The administration must make good its promise to Crazy Horse.
The Indians must be protected in their right to exist in their country.
I have the authority to answer that from the administration, from the president himself.
Come, my dear.
Your soldier won his last fight after all.