Mr. Custer Mr. Custer "Mr. Custer" is a march novelty song, sung by Larry Verne, and written by Al De Lory, Fred Darian, and Joseph Van Winkle. It was a song in the United States in 1960, topping the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart for the issue dated October 10, 1960, and remained there for one week. It is a comical song about a soldier's plea to General Custer before the climactic Battle of the Little Bighorn against the Sioux, which he did not want to fight. In 1964, Verne recorded and released a sequel novelty song entitled "Return of Mr. Custer,"
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