JULY 19: The Death Struggle

On July 19, 1876, an illustration depicting "The Death Struggle of General Custer,” created by artist William de la Montagne Cary (1840-1922), appears in the Daily Graphic: an Illustrated Evening Newspaper.

W.M. Cary’s illustration, “The Death Struggle of General Custer” (1876). (Credit: Library of Congress)

The illustration, officially titled, “The Battle of the Little Big Horn River – The Death Struggle of General Custer,” captures what the artist believed were the final moments of Custer’s life, known as Custer's Last Stand. In it, Custer is surrounded by Native American warriors and fallen soldiers, in his military regalia, wielding a saber and revolver. The image emphasizes the chaos and intensity of the battle. It is one of the first illustrations envisioning Custer’s final moments.

Experts at the Buffalo Bill Center of The West’s Whitney Western Art Museum point out one error in Cary’s illustration. Custer is depicted with a saber in his right hand, a revolver in his left. Actually, they state, there were no sabers carried by Custer or his men at the battlefield that day. They were left behind a week earlier when the regiment set out from the Yellowstone River toward Little Bighorn.

Other artists followed with famous illustrations of Custer’s Last Stand, including Cassily Adams and Edgar S. Paxson. They helped shape the visual narrative and cultural understanding of the event. Adams' print, “Custer’s Last Fight,” was widely distributed by Anheuser-Busch in 1896 as an advertising promotion for Budweiser beer.