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Background
Having played George A. Custer as a thoughtful West Point cadet in the 1940 saddle swashbuckler, Santa Fe Trail, Reagan continues to view the controversial general as a serious sober officer. Writing to Western historian and Custer biographer David Humphreys Miller, Reagan defends Custer from his detractors:
His image has been blurred and distorted over time but in truth he was a brilliant officer and not at all the boastful show-off his detractors would have us believe. And he certainly wasn't on a glory ride on that fateful day. He was carrying out his orders to the letter. It isn't well known that a brother, a nephew, and his brother-in-law died with him in that last battle.
Reagan left out a second brother who also died at the Little Bighorn.
Describing himself as a “Custer Buff,” Reagan regrets that White House custom forbids his writing a foreword to Miller’s book – perhaps a reprint of his seminal 1957 study, Custer's Fall: The Native American Side of the Story.
Physical Description
all pages and transcript
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Washington
June 21, 1984
PERSONAL
Dear Mr. Miller:
Neil sent me your letter regarding a foreword to your book. I can't tell you how much I regret having to say no and I'm honored that you would ask me. It seems that custom forbids it while I'm in this job. But I want you to know how real my regret is because I've been something of a Custer buff myself and not just because I once played him on the screen.
His image has been blurred and distorted over time but in truth he was a brilliant officer and not at all the boastful show-off his detractors would have us believe. And he certainly wasn't on a glory ride on that fateful day. He was carrying out his orders to the letter. It isn't well known that a brother, a nephew, and his brother-in-law died with him in that last battle.
I'll be looking for your book when it's published and I wish you success.
Again my regret and best wishes.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan
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P.O. Box 1675
Rancho Santa Fe, California 92067
