We Were Soilders

We Were Soldiers

June 26, 1876

is a day that will stand in history as one of the bloodiest ever recorded. It was that day that General Custer gave the order to attack his enemy

General Custer was a very brave man. He had won many a battle and killed many a man. In fact history tells us that he was very revered as a solider and as a leader.

He made 3 huge great mistakes that day.

He put his agenda above his men.

History proves that he put his agenda above the soldiers, because Custer had tremendous ambitions--he wanted to go to the White House--and he saw this campaign as a way to get there. It was a selfish agenda, and it cost him his life, as well as the lives of many of his men.

Romans 12:3 says it this way

I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you

He underestimated the strengths of the enemy.

His last recorded words as the soldiers began to break rank and go into battle were, "Hang on, boys. There’ll be enough Indians for everyone." He left two gatllin guns, his most effective weapons, because he didn’t think that they would need them. You should never let pride get you in that kind of trouble--to be caught off guard simply because you expected to win and became complacent.

1Peter 5:

8¡†Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.

He didn’t prepare his soldiers for battle.

There’s a moment in the film "We were soldiers", staring Mel Gibson, when the main character looks at his right-hand man and says, "I feel like General Custer" He was distraught because he was watching so many of his men being killed, but there was a vast difference between him and General Custer. This real-life colonel looked at his men and said, "I’ll be the first on the field of battle, I’ll be the last off of the field of battle; and when I go, everybody, dead or alive of our group, will be with me." That’s a perfect example of somebody who puts someone else’s agenda above their own, unlike Custer, who was more interested in glory that the safety of his men.

He was the first one here

He will be the last one out, and his greatest concern is you as an individual, dead or alive, will be with him.