Tenting On The Plains [Paperback]

Elizabeth B. Custer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

Elizabeth Custer chronicles the journey with her legendary husband, General George A. Custer, from the time of this leaving the Army of the Potomac, through Texas, New Orleans, and to the Western frontier. 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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Digitally recreated from the first edition volume originally published in 1889. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Born in 1842, Elizabeth (Bacon) Custer, married George Custer in 1864, and was widowed after the famous battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. A fierce defender of her husband's legacy, she wrote extensively of their life together. She died in 1933.

Product Details

• Paperback: 712 pages
• Publisher: Epaulet Books (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587761130
• ISBN-13: 978-1587761133
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,124,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can not say enough GOOD about this book!, June 20, 2005

By 

starflakes "starflakes" (Drinkwater) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tenting on the Plains: Or, General Custer in Kansas and Texas (Western Frontier Library) (Paperback)

I can not say enough good about this book.....for think of it more as what Little House on the Prairie should have been if it was interesting....and what Tom Sawyer and Hunk Finn would have been if Mark Twain was a good writer.

I consider this a fabulous work, because it is first hand history of the wife of General Custer in the year after the Civil War. It is the excitement of times on a broad scale and the narrow joy of a married couple coping with life.
It honestly is a conversation between Libby, the reader with literal colorful commentary by her black maid, Eliza.
You will read how black history really was and not what is written now.

You get to see women in all their supposed helplessness at times, but when a tragedy strikes time and again their real courage and strength comes out.

I have yet to read anything from Libby whether it is her personal letters...to the absolutely heart wrenching account of the day she found out her family was slaughtered at the Little Big Horn which did not show one of the most charming and delightful personas ever to imprint upon the written word.
So as Mrs. Dockter, my 5th grade teacher always read to us after noon recess....if you have children or grandchildren....read to them...and if you have grown children get them this book as it impressed me enough to recommend it.

This book should be required in every school as a reading assignment along with Dickens and Irving.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 50 Star Review, June 20, 2005

By 

starflakes "starflakes" (Drinkwater) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tenting on the Plains: With General Custer from the Potomac to the Western Frontier (Paperback)

I can not recommend this book more, Tenting on the Plains by Elizabeth Bacon Custer.....and no before you wrinkle your nose that it is a camping book....think of it more as what Little House on the Prairie should have been if it was interesting....and what Tom Sawyer and Hunk Finn would have been if Mark Twain was a good writer.

This is a fabulous work, because it is first hand history of the wife of General Custer in the year after the Civil War. It is the excitement of times on a broad scale and the narrow joy of a married couple coping with life.
It honestly is a conversation between Libby, the reader with literal colorful commentary by her black maid, Eliza.
You will read how black history really was and not what is written now.

You get to see women in all their supposed helplessness at times, but when a tragedy strikes time and again their real courage and strength comes out.

I have yet to read anything from Libby whether it is her personal letters...to the absolutely heart wrenching account of the day she found out her family was slaughtered at the Little Big Horn which did not show one of the most charming and delightful personas ever to imprint upon the written word.
So as Mrs. Dockter, my 5th grade teacher always read to us after noon recess....if you have children or grandchildren....read to them...and if you have grown children get them this book as it impressed me enough to recommend it.

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN OUR SCHOOLS AS IT IS THAT WELL WRITTEN, MORAL, GOOD, INTERESTING and HISTORICAL.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yesteryear actions, conflicts, and frontier history, September 14, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tenting on the Plains: With General Custer from the Potomac to the Western Frontier (Paperback)

Originally published in 1887, Tenting On The Plains is the highly recommended and well respected chronicle that Elizabeth Custer wrote describing a journey she took with her husband, General George A. Custer. The chronicle ranges from when General Custer left the Army of the Potomac in 1865 and traveled through Texas, New Orleans, and on to the western frontier. Elizabeth Custer's perspective and writings significantly helped magnify Custer's legend and fame in the eyes of the people at the time, and offers a unique view of the daily routine of life in the frontier military, as well as offering contemporary readers eye-opening descriptions of yesteryear actions, conflicts, and frontier history.