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
Custer, South Dakota Jackson), but it was renamed for Custer. Almost abandoned in 1876 after word of the much larger gold strikes in Deadwood Gulch spread, Custer later became an established city. Custer has had a smaller population and been less wealthy than the Northern Hills cities of Deadwood and Lead. In addition to gold, Custer and other cities based their economies on the extraction of industrial minerals, which are still important to the regional economy. Custer annually observes a "Gold Discovery Days" celebration and festivities over the last full weekend of July. This heritage tourism event celebrates the discovery of gold by