The 7th cav.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

Nice, but I was into the Indian War history for many years, and collected arms, uniforms, equipment, manuals, AND read a number of BOOKS on the subject. Plus reenacting that period.
You can praise Custer all you want but you will find no love of him by the soldiers of the 7th cav, aside from Tom Custer. they did fear him as he had the reputation of a martinet. One example for your edification. On campaign any infraction was dealt with by having the offender dig a hole and remain in it overnight while the rest of the command slept above ground.
I no longer collect that period in our history but I know damm well That "Lieutenant Colonel" Custer was not the brightest bulb in the lot.

As far as the gatlings go, don't hand me the bull that he couldn't have taken them with him. or at least one of the four. Those carriages were not restricted to paved roads.

As for the information that Custer intended to run for political office that is a known fact.

Second guessing Grant? Custer pleaded with Sherman to go on that campaign.
And the courts martial sentence still had not been entirely served.

Cavalry tactics that you are so proud of do not apply in this case because there were too damm many indians, as his scouts accurately reported. Custer figured the Indians had always run before, so they would run again, WRONG.
He was discovered by the indians? yeah, a couple of kids herding livestock. why did this happen? Because Custer pushed his command to get there FIRST so he could grab the "glory"

Now I mentioned high casualties in the Civil War, because his casualties were HIGHER than any other cavalry command! Getting your men killed faster than any other officer is NOT a sign of brilliance even if you are at the head of them.

Of course they had to blame someone else for his incompetence because the wonderful "boy general" was perfect, so they blamed the officer who saved a portion of the 7th. There was NO WAY Custer could have managed a victory. Some even believe Custer was among the first casualties, as on crossing the Rosebud, one person was shot out of the saddle and the entire command stopped to rescue him. Would they have done that for a trooper?