He was prepared to try and blow it up because he romanticized war and had a perception of nobility in it. He believed in confederate ideals and was prepared to sacrifice himself for them, and it's no wonder that his luck turned on him because war is not a pretty thing and he got tricked by the enemy.
George Custer led a troop of US cavalry (7th Cavalry) into battle against a vastly numerically superior force of American Indians. His troop and General Custer were all killed and the US lost almost 300 men out of 700.
