Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth

by Shirley A. Leckie

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.

 

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, American History, History

444 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently researched and written! This book gives a clear picture of Libby Custer and allows the reader to form their own opinion of her and the part she played in Western settlement and popular culture regarding the Battle of Little Big Horn and especially George Custer. Leckie kept the story moving forward and never bogged it down with too many facts making it a very captivating read.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the American West.

[Alethea Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even the folks who slept through History Class know who George Armstrong Custer was. Most of them have an opinion about him. Many of our former Presidents don't have that kind of name recognition. This book helps to understand that phenomenon.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting look at a woman who so loved her husband (at least according to this author) that she completely re-defined his life including how he died.

It took me a really, really long time to read this book. Interesting at first, it finally became a race to see if I would ever finish it.