Custer, Wisconsin Custer, Wisconsin Custer is an unincorporated community located in the town of Stockton, in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The origin of the communities name is not confirmed but general consensus is it was named after Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, who was defeated during the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. The Custer post office was established in December, 1876 just six months after the battle of Little Big Horn. The community was originally called "Dawson". The only evidence to where this name came from was an August 8, 1854 land deed marking the sale of a
Great Sioux War of 1876 To combat the Sioux the U.S. army had a string of forts ringing the Great Sioux Reservation and unceded territory. The largest force arrayed against the Indians at one time was in summer 1876 and consisted of 2,500 soldiers deployed in the unceded territory and accompanied by hundreds of Indian scouts and civilians. Many of the soldiers were recent immigrants and inexperienced on the frontier and in Indian warfare. Cavalry soldiers were armed with .45 caliber, single-action revolvers and the Springfield Model 1873, a single-shot, breech-loading rifle which gave the soldiers a large advantage in range over most Indian weapons.