Custer Monument (West Point) Custer Monument (West Point) Custer Monument is a monument at the United States Military Academy Cemetery, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer who was killed along with his immediate command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on 25 June 1876. Congress approved of a statue, to be made from 20 condemned bronze cannons, and for $10,000, of which $6,000 had been subscribed by citizens of New York. The monument was originally located near the academy's headquarters building near the site of present-day Taylor Hall along Thayer Road. Unveiled in 1879, the pedestal had a bronze statue of
George Armstrong Custer and form a skirmish line. They were soon overcome by mounted Lakota and Cheyenne warriors who counterattacked "en masse" against Reno's exposed left flank, forcing Reno and his men to take cover in the trees along the river. Eventually, however, this position became untenable, and the troopers were forced into a bloody retreat up onto the bluffs above the river, where they made their own stand. This, the opening action of the battle, cost Reno a quarter of his command. Custer may have seen Reno stop and form a skirmish line as Custer led his command to the northern end