The Civil War Memories of Elizabeth Bacon Custer: Reconstructed from Her Diaries and Notes

by Elizabeth Bacon Custer

In her first year of marriage (1864-1865) to General George Armstrong Custer, Libbie Custer witnessed the Civil War firsthand. Her experiences of danger, hardship, and excitement made ideal material for a book, one that she worked on for years in later life but ultimately never published. In this volume, Arlene Reynolds has produced a readable narrative of Libbie Custer's life during the war years by chronologically reconstructing Libbie's original, unpublished notes and diaries found in the archives of the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. In these reminiscences, Libbie Custer adds striking, eloquent details to the Civil War story as she describes her life both in camp and in Washington. Her stories of incidents such as fording a swollen river sidesaddle on horseback, dancing at the Inaugural Ball near President Lincoln, and watching the massive review of the Army of the Potomac after the surrender have the engrossing quality of a well-written novel. For general readers and students of women's history, this book tells a fascinating story of a sheltered girl's maturation into a courageous woman in the crucible of war. And for both devotees and detractors of her husband, it offers an intimate glimpse into his youth, West Point years, and early military service.

181 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Jacquie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting recount of one women's point of view of her husband and his Civil War experience. Libby Custer follows her husband, the famed boy general, George Armstrong Custer from one battle field to the next. She didn't report on any of the horrors of the war, nor did she focus on the political aspects of the war as much as she did her personal worries over her husband.
At times I felt she reported more on how well her husband's soldiers treated her and looked after her than she did on their possible dangers. Since this book was written from her diary and letters, I was a little disappointed that she didn't have anything to add on the stories of Mary Todd Lincoln, or even Julia Grant, who also followed her husband from battle station to battle station when safe to do so.
All in all an interesting read.

[NDH · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard of this book, I thought it sounded like a good idea…the compiling/collating of EBC’s disparate writings and jottings related specifically to the Civil War years…and I assumed that it must have been undertaken by a historian of some sort, an academic at least. I was thus surprised and a bit concerned that the task had been undertaken by, of all people, an actress, Arlene Reynolds, who’d portrayed Libbie Custer in a 1991 television series (“The Real West”). I expected something really cheesy.
I have, however, been very pleasantly surprised that Ms. Reynold’s did what strikes me as a very commendable job. This book reads and feels like it was actually written by EBC, which essentially it was, and Ms. Reynolds deserves thanks and praise for her work in bringing it all together. Good job, says I.
If you’ve enjoyed EBC’s three better-known works published during her lifetime, this fits quite comfortably and naturally with them. You’ll enjoy this one too, although I admit that some of it is a bit repetitive (George’s West Point years in particular.) I might also quibble with some of the sequencing in the account of the march back to Washington City for the Grand Review, but such criticisms would truly be minor. EBC is a fascinating and interesting lady who had a unique perch from which to observe and experience the incredible changes that America (and the world) underwent from her youth until her death in 1933. I wish she’d written more. I wish that there were more diligent historians to go through her papers to share with us her observations of those changing times. What a life!

Three Thumbs Up and Five Stars for this one!

[Mary Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love history, and I thought this book would be a different and interesting perspective on the Civil War. I couldn't have been more wrong. Elizabeth Custer comes off as a fluff-head simpleton in this book. Even during important moments of her life, such as meeting Abraham Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln, the best Mrs. Custer can cough up is the observation that Mrs. Lincoln's hair is pulled back too tightly. This is most certainly not a history book, and calling it "Civil War Memories" is a bit of a stretch. It's a pack of mindless observations of a spoiled little girl. I finished this book only because I can't stand leaving a book unfinished, but this was a waste of time.

[Shelley B.]

Couldn't get into this much.