The Abridged Version of "Tenting on the Plains; or, General Custer in Kansas and Texas"

by Elizabeth Bacon Custer, John Oswego (Editor)

In Tenting on the Plains, originally published in 1887, Elizabeth Custer chronicles the journey with her legendary husband, General George A. Custer, from the time of his leaving the Army of the Potomac in 1865, through Texas, New Orleans, and to the western frontier.

General Custer's myth is created, and then magnified, by his wife in the three books she wrote about their life together (Tenting is the first in chronological order, although it was the second of the three to be published). Her descriptions of the daily rigors of travel, survival, and the people encountered, have become classic historical literature -- and in this case, enlivened by the perceptive eye and mind of a woman who, in her own right, became a heroine of the time.

Genres: History, Biography, Memoir

Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 1887

About the author

Elizabeth Clift Bacon Custer was an American author and public speaker, and the wife of Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, United States Army. She spent most of their marriage in relatively close proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the American Civil War and subsequent posting on the Great Plains as a commanding officer in the United States Cavalry.

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, Custer's iconic portrayal as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of 'Custer's Last Stand' was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great detail on life in the Army after the Civil War

[Larry Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting to read accounts of life from a different century. To read of a unique time and place in American history is very interesting. The “taming” of the “west“ in the immediate wake of the Civil War Is instructive in many ways. Life of the soldiers and their families in Texas and Kansas in the late 1860s was different from modern renditions of the later west.

With brief mention of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill the only familiar characters are Generals Custer and Sherman. Yet the description of life at the forts illustrates the dangers faced in the westward migration and the impact of the army and railroad in opening up the way for pioneers.

The volume of information new to me was surprising, the interesting quality of the narrative, replete with anecdotes and descriptive explanations, was a relief, and the subject matter compelling.

While the account ended less than 10 years shy of Custer’s demise (at age 36!) at Little Big Horn one can easily imagine how easily it could have happened earlier.

There were many epiphanies for me in reading this book, and had it achieved in the Texas portion the interest that I found in reading the Kansas portion i might have given it five stars.

An important, monumental, and good read.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book written by the widow of George Armstrong Custer. This book is an account of Elizabeth travels with George during his deployments in Kansas and Texas. It is a genera that was popular in the latter half of the 19th century. A lady with a high social standing writing about her travels in the Western wilderness of the US. After the Custer massacre Mrs Custer spent the rest of her life trying to rehabilitate her dead husband.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only from her view of her life, during a certain period, with her husband.

[Lee Thackston · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unimpressive work that contributes little to history. I suppose since it was written by Custer's wife about her experiences traveling with her husband I should have known it was going to be about the camp life that she was exposed to and not the actual campaigns of Custer. So, do not read this if you are looking for a military history or reference but do read if you are interested in the life on the American Frontier.

I was surprised by how entitled she sounded in her stories despite the fact she was always claiming to only need simple things. She also came across as a bit racist (more than I would expect from a Northerner writing a couple of decades after the War). She seemed to exhibit a presumption of superiority throughout. Though obviously this book wouldn't say so, I would bet that most soldiers resented her for tagging along providing another burden to an already taxing life. I don't think I would have liked her.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Orginally published in 1887, this edition was reprinted in order to bring to the masses a book that became neglected by time. Written by Elizabeth Custer, the wife of the notorious Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, it is a recounting of the times that Custer spent in Kansas and Texas as told by a devoted wife who ignores and downplays controversial issues about her famous husband. She wrote several books that helped influence opinions about Custer until her death in 1933. She outlived almost all her husband's contemporaries, but after her death, the pendulum swung back in the other direction leaving Custer's reputation sundered. This book covers a period in history about Custer that few know today, and serves as a balancing account of a man who engendered both respect and hatred from those who served with and under him.

[Cojaysea · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a surprise this book was . what an interesting read. before i started it i thought it would be a poorly written work by a woman trying to live off of her husbands fame . WRONG . elizabeth custer was a good writer and she went through adventures that you and i could only dream of. a very insightful book of what it was like at the end of the civil war to travel through a hostile country filled with disease ,floods and hurricanes ,to say nothing of the differences between the people towards each other .surprisingly good.

[Chuck Parrish]

It was a pretty good book. I resented (resembled) her charatarizations of the poor folks she observed during her trip through the piney woods of Louisiana and East Texas. I put down the book just as soon as the narrative left Texas. It seemed tedious and a lot of womanly detail about trivialities after they left Texas. :)

[Gloria Reid Kandle]

I believe she had a very glamorized unrealistic view of a power hungry foolish man

[Maryclaire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Custer takes you with her on her travels as a military wife.