George and Libbie Custer

Elizabeth Bacon Custer (April 8, 1842 - April 6, 1933) was the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. After his death, she became an outspoken advocate for her husband's legacy. Custer's portrayal as a gallant fallen hero and the glory of Custer’s Last Stand that were canons of American history for more than a century after his death was largely the result of her endless campaigning on his behalf. Download high resolution version (518x640, 51 KB)http://lcweb2. ... Download high resolution version (518x640, 51 KB)http://lcweb2. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... George Armstrong Custer Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was an American cavalry commander in the Civil War and the Indian Wars who is best remembered for his defeat and death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against a coalition of Native American tribes...

Elizabeth “Libbie” Bacon was born in Monroe, Michigan in 1842, the daughter of a wealthy and influential judge. As the only one of the judge’s children that would live to adulthood, her father doted on her. Intelligent and beautiful, her father hoped she would make a good marriage with a man from her own social class. Monroe is a city located in Monroe County, Michigan. ...

She met her future husband in 1862 in the midst of the American Civil War. She fell deeply in love with him but her father refused to allow them to get married. Custer was from a poor undistinguished family and the Judge hoped Libby would have better than the life of an army wife. After Custer was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General, Judge Bacon finally relented and they were married on February 9, 1864. The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the United States – forces coming mostly from the 23 northern states of the Union – and the newly-formed Confederate States of America, which consisted of 11 southern states that had declared their secession. ... In the US military, brevet refers to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank. ... A Brigadier General, or one-star general, is the lowest rank of general officer in the United States and some other countries, ranking just above Colonel and just below Major General. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Libby and George had a loving but tumultuous relationship. Both were stubborn, opinionated, and ambitious. Their private correspondences were filled with sexually charged double entendres. Despite hardships, they were utterly devoted to each other. She followed him to every assignment, even during the latter days of the Civil War. The depth of their relationship has been the subject of considerable interest in books and film. A double entendre or innuendo is a figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways. ...

After the war, he reverted from his rank of general and was assigned to a series of dreary and unsatisfying assignments in Texas, Kansas, and the Dakota Territory. Life on the frontier outposts was difficult and Custer’s career was plagued by problems including a court martial (brought about be leaving the field to be with Libbie). State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry (R) Official languages None. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ... Dakota Territory was the name of the northernmost part of the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

The 1876 campaign against the Sioux seemed like a chance for glory to Custer. From Fort Abraham Lincoln in what is now North Dakota, He lead the Seventh Cavalry in pursuit of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne who refused to be confined to the reservation system. Fort Abraham Lincoln was an important infantry and cavalry post about seven miles south of todays Mandan, North Dakota. ... State nickname: Peace Garden State, Roughrider State, Flickertail State Other U.S. States Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Governor John Hoeven (R) Official languages English Area 183 272 km² (19th)  - Land 178 839 km²  - Water 4 432 km² (2. ... Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Sioux: Tatanka Iyotake or Tatanka Iyotanka orTa-Tanka I-Yotank, born Hunkesni, Slow), (c. ... Crazy Horse (Sioux: Tasunka witko, pronounced tashúnka uitko), (c. ...

After her husband’s column was wiped out at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876, many in the press, Army, and government criticized Custer for blundering into a massacre. President Ulysses S. Grant publically blamed Custer for the disaster. Fearing that her husband was to be made a scapegoat by history, Libby launched a one woman campaign to rehabilitate her husbands image. She began writing articles and making speaking engagements praising the glory of her martyred husband. Her three books, Boots and Saddles, (1885), Following the Guidon (1890); and Tenting on the Plains, (1893) were brilliant pieces of propaganda aimed at glorifying her dead husband’s memory. Though generally considered to be largely factually accurate, they were clearly slanted in Custer's favor. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custers Last Stand, was an engagement between a Lakota-Cheyenne combined force and the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army that took place on June 25, 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory. ... Order: 18th President Vice President: Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873); Henry Wilson (1873–1875) Term of office: March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1877 Preceded by: Andrew Johnson Succeeded by: Rutherford B. Hayes Date of birth: April 27, 1822 Place of birth: Point Pleasant, Ohio Date of death: July 23, 1885 Place... The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...

Her efforts were largely successful. The image of a steely Custer leading his men against overwhelming odds only to be wiped out while defending their position to the last man became as much a part of American lore as the Alamo. It would not be until the late 20th century, more than a half century after her death, that many historians began to take a second look at Custer’s actions leading up to the battle and found much to criticize. The Battle of the Alamo was a 19th Century battle between the Republic of Mexico and the rebel Texian forces during the Texas Revolution. ...

Libbie remained utterly devoted to her husband and never remarried. She died in New York City a few days before her 92nd birthday. She was buried next to her husband at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, music, and culture. ... United States Military Academy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... West Point painting West Point is a federal military base (and a census-designated place) located in the Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York. ...

Libbie was portrayed by actress Olivia de Havilland in the 1941 film They Died with their Boots On, and by Rosanna Arquette in the 1991 movie Son of the Morning Star. Photo still of Olivia de Havilland. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rosanna Lauren Arquette (born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• Boots and Saddles by Libbie Custer