Elizabeth Custer
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Elizabeth Bacon Custer (née Bacon; April 8, 1842 – April 4, 1933) was an American author and public speaker, and the wife of Brevet Major General
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
,
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
. She spent most of their marriage in relative proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
and subsequent postings on the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...
as a commanding officer in the
United States Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one ...
. Left nearly destitute in the aftermath of her husband's death, she became an outspoken advocate for his legacy through her popular books and lectures. Largely as a result of her decades of campaigning on his behalf, General Custer's image as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of
Custer's Last Stand The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death. Elizabeth Custer never remarried and died in 1933, four days short of her 91st birthday. She has been portrayed by a number of actresses, starting in the 1940s in films and later on television.


Early years

Elizabeth "Libbie" Bacon was born in
Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonom ...
, in 1842, the daughter of a wealthy and influential judge and state representative, Daniel Bacon (b. 1798). Her father had profitable investments in real estate and other business ventures. Tragedy marked much of her childhood, with her three siblings and mother all dying before Elizabeth's thirteenth year. As she was the only one of the judge's children who would live to adulthood, her father doted on her, being charged by his dying wife to "...be both a mother and father..." to the young girl. Judge Bacon, nearly ten years later, stated "I have ever felt the force of these words... I feel the responsibility beyond anything in my life before or since." Elizabeth Bacon was both beautiful and intelligent, graduating from a girls' seminary in June 1862 at the head of her class. Her father hoped she would make a good marriage with a man from her own elevated social status, and she rejected several suitors. She had briefly encountered her future husband George Armstrong Custer as a child, and socially met him again in the autumn of 1862, when he had returned to Monroe on leave from the first year of the American Civil War. He later wrote that he fell deeply in love with her as of their first formal meeting. She eventually returned these feelings, but her father refused to allow then-Captain Custer into the Bacon home or to permit her to meet him outside it, much less get married, as George proposed in the final week of 1862. He was from a poor, undistinguished family, and the judge hoped his daughter would have better than the life of an army wife. After Custer, just prior to the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...
(where he played a significant role), was promoted to Brevet
brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
, Judge Bacon finally relented and they were married in Monroe at the First Presbyterian Church on February 9, 1864.


Married life

Elizabeth Custer and her husband George had a loving but tumultuous relationship. Both were stubborn, opinionated, and ambitious. Their private correspondence was filled with sexually charged
double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s.
... we gave ourselves the privilege of a swift gallop... I never noticed the surroundings until I found we were almost in the midst of an Indian village, quite hidden under the bluff. My heart literally stood still. I watched the general furtively. He was as usual perfectly unmoved, and yet he well knew that this was the country where it was hardly considered that the Indian was overburdened with hospitality. ... The next day the general thought I might rather not go with him than run the risk of such frights; but I well knew there was something far worse than fears for my own personal safety. It is infinitely worse to be left behind, a prey to all the horrors of imagining what may be happening to one we love. You eat your heart slowly out with such anxiety, and to endure such suspense is simply the hardest of all trials that come to the soldier's wife. — Elizabeth 'Libbie' Custer, from her first book ''Boots and Saddles'', on her life and adventures with her husband.
After the war, George reverted from his wartime rank of major general to his
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
rank of
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
, although he did receive a brevet (honorary) promotion to major general which allowed him to wear the uniform and insignia of that rank. He was assigned to a series of dreary and unsatisfying assignments in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
, and the
Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...
. Life on the frontier outposts was difficult, and his career was plagued by problems including a
court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
(brought about by his leaving the field to be with his wife). The 1876 campaign against the Sioux seemed like a chance for glory to George Armstrong Custer. The couple's final home together was at
Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...
near what is now Bismarck,
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...
. From there, the general led the Seventh Cavalry in pursuit of
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock ...
,
Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by w ...
and the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne who refused to be confined to the reservation system.


Defender of her husband's legacy

After her husband and 5 of the 12 companies of the 7th Cavalry were wiped out at the
Battle of the Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
in June 1876, many in the press, Army, and government criticized him for blundering into a massacre. President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
publicly blamed him for the disaster. Fearing that her husband would be made a
scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...
by history, Elizabeth Custer launched a one-woman campaign to rehabilitate her husband's image. Her assistance to Frederick Whittaker, the author of the first biography of George, helped enable the rapid production of the popular book, which praised George's career and set the tone for future biographers in the decades ahead. Elizabeth began writing articles and making speaking engagements praising the glory of what she presented as her "martyred" husband. Her three books—''Boots and Saddles'' (1885), ''Tenting on the Plains''—(1887), and ''Following the Guidon'' (1890) aimed at glorifying her husband's memory and were ultimately slanted in George's favor. Elizabeth remained utterly devoted to her husband and never remarried. Despite having spent her life traveling extensively throughout the United States (including winters in Florida) and the world, she never visited the valley of Little Big Horn. She was said to treasure a letter from President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
who stated that her husband was "one of my heroes" and "a shining light to all the youth of America." In later decades, historians reexamined George's actions leading up to and during the battle and found much to criticize. After an initial period of distress dealing with her late husband's debts, Elizabeth spent her over a half-century of widowhood in financial comfort attained as the result of her literary career and lecture tours, leaving an estate of over $100,000. She died in New York City, four days before her 91st birthday, on April 4, 1933, and was buried next to her husband at
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
. A few years before her death she told a writer that her greatest disappointment was that she never had a son to bear her husband's honored name.


Portrayals in movies and television

Elizabeth Custer was portrayed by actress
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
in the 1941 film ''
They Died with their Boots On ''They Died with Their Boots On'' is a 1941 American black-and-white Western film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Hal B. Wallis and Robert Fellows, directed by Raoul Walsh, that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film's sto ...
'', by
Mary Ure Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British stage and film actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (after Deborah Kerr) to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film ''Sons and Lovers''. Ear ...
in the 1967 film ''
Custer of the West ''Custer of the West'' is a 1967 American Western film directed by Robert Siodmak that presents a highly fictionalised version of the life and death of George Armstrong Custer, starring Robert Shaw as Custer, Robert Ryan, Ty Hardin, Jeffrey Hun ...
'', by
Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and ...
in the 1977 television movie ''The Court Martial of George Armstrong Custer'', and by Rosanna Arquette in the 1991 television mini-series ''
Son of the Morning Star ''Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Big Horn'' is a nonfiction account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, by novelist Evan S. Connell, published in 1984 by North Point Press. The book features extensive portraits ...
''.


Notes and references


External links


Libby Custer
Wife Of Union General George Armstrong Custer * * *
Custer Writes of Secret Engagement to Libbie, Original Letter
Shapell Manuscript Foundation * *
Custer Battlefield Museum, Garryowen, Montana – Home of the Elizabeth Bacon Custer Manuscript Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Custer, Elizabeth Bacon 1842 births 1933 deaths Elizabeth Bacon People from Monroe, Michigan People of Michigan in the American Civil War American women writers Burials at West Point Cemetery Writers from Michigan