Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth [Paperback]

Shirley A. Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Georger Armstrong Custer’s death in 1876 at the Battle of the Little Big Horn left Elizabeth Bacon Custer a thirty-four-year-old widow who was deeply in debt. By the time she died fifty-seven years later she had achieved economic security, recognition as an author and lecturer, and the respect of numerous public figures. She had built the Custer legend, an idealized image of her husband as a brilliant military commander and a family man without personal failings. In Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth, Shirley A. Leckie explores the life of "Libbie," a frontier army wife who willingly adhered to the social and religious restrictions of her day, yet used her authority as model wife and widow to influence events and ideology far beyond the private sphere.

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1864 the charming Elizabeth "Libbie" Bacon (1842-1933) married the flamboyant George Armstrong Custer, a 23-year-old Civil War brigadier general. Adapting enthusiastically to military life, she traveled with her husband to frontier posts and actively promoted his career as he achieved fame driving the Sioux and the Cheyenne Indian tribes onto reservations. In this insightful and extensively researched biography, Leckie ( Unlikely Warriors ) provides a look into the Custers' political and cultural worlds and documents their conflicts as well as their strong erotic bonds. After her husband's death at the battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, Libbie supported herself by lecturing and writing about her life with him. She devoted her energies to idealizing Custer as a hero, attacking critics who asserted that he had disobeyed orders and led his men into certain death at Bighorn. Illustrations. History Book Club selection.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

YA-An engrossing presentation of the life of George Armstrong Custer's wife and a valuable look at America's 19th century from an "average" woman's perspective. Elizabeth (Libby) Custer spent 57 years after the Battle of Little Bighorn glorifying the memory of her husband. This obsession led to many arenas, both political and social. Through friends such as Andrew and Louise Carnegie, Buffalo Bill, and William Sherman, she met many notables hoping they would exonerate her husband's name from any wrongdoing. Her own writings-Boots and Saddles and Following the Guidon lauded praises on him and made her a well-known writer of her day. Her influence and persona held back the critical analysis of her husband's military role until after her death. The few witnesses who chose to remain silent rather than upset Mrs. Custer did not outlive her. Therefore, many primary sources of the battle never reported the true conditions of the day. YAs might be turned off by the length and scholarly nature of the writing, but the table of contents allows students to peruse chapters that would be useful for research.
Linda Vretos, West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806130962
• ISBN-13: 978-0806130965
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leckie does not judge Libby by modern standards, September 2, 1999

By 

LaLoren - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully written book, and very readable. Having read a lot about the history of the period I already knew how fiercely the widow Custer guarded her husband's reputation and how much she did to enhance it. Unlike many female authors might do, however, Leckie does not judge Libby by modern standards, but puts her in the context of her time. She also touches on the possibility that remaining Autie's widow may have been far more liberating for her, in her times, than it would have been to become Mrs. Someone else. During her husband's lifetime she lived in his shadow, but after his death she was able to use that connection to become an author and lecturer in her own right. She also left an estate valued at over $300,000, after her husband had managed only to put them into debt. Having read her memoirs like Boots and Saddles and Tenting on the Plains, it was clear that Mrs.Custer never gave much insite into her true feelings. Nothing seemed to upset her except a criticism of her husband. Inspite of this, though, Leckie does manage to make her into a real person. I found her epilogue truly moving, and I came away with an understanding of an historical character, whom up to this point, I hadn't much cared for.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Life, July 18, 2009

By 

L. Berger "L Berger" (Boston) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth (Paperback)

You probably have heard about General Custer, but have you heard about Elizabeth Bacon Custer--his wife? This biography of the wife of Custer is a very worthwhile read, both from the historical perspective and also from the sociological. This woman had an unusual marriage to a man who was not always "so heroic" at home as he was on the battlefield. The author gives great background into the lives of women in the mid-19th century, but specically into this one. After reading this book, you will want to read a biography about Custer himself. I suggest Stephen Ambroise's Crazy Horse and Custer.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every Custer enthusiast and admirer should read this one, February 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth (Hardcover)

Sometimes, it's not how good you are, but how good your P.R. is that determines your reputation. And in the case of the (in)famous U.S. cavalry commander George Armstrong Custer, the P.R. was definitely good. Immediately after Custer's death (along with 200+ of his troops in what was, and arguably still is, the worst battle loss ever suffered by U.S. forces), his widow, Libbie Bacon Custer, began a propaganda campaign designed to secure her beloved husband's place in history. Unfortunately for history, she succeeded far too well. This book, a biography of Custer's widow, gives real insight into how she manipulated the media available to her in order to glorify her husband--or to be more accurate, to glorify her idealized portrait of her husband. Had Libbie not done her work so well, Custer would have been only a footnote in American History. In addition to providing a valuable supplement to the historical record concerning Custer, Ms. Leckie's book paints a masterly portrait of an exceptional woman, which is well worth the time of readers with little interest in Custer