Elizabeth Clift [Bacon] Custer (1842-1933)

Original article

Libbie Custer is best known as wife to Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, widowed when her husband was killed during the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.Elizabeth Clift Bacon was born in Monroe, Michigan on April 8, 1842, to wealthy and influential Judge Daniel Stanton Bacon and Eleanor Sophia Page. As the only one of the judge's children that would live to adulthood, her father doted on her.At 5' 4" tall with chestnut brown hair and blue-grey eyes, Elizabeth was talented, beautiful and intelligent. Her father hoped she would make a good marriage with a man from her own elevated social class. Elizabeth graduated as valedictorian from the Young Ladies' Seminary and Collegiate Institute in Monroe.

She met her future husband at a Thanksgiving social in 1862 in the midst of the Civil War. She fell deeply in love with him but her father refused to allow them to get married. Custer was from a poor undistinguished family and the Judge hoped Libbie would have better than the life of an army wife. After Custer was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General, Judge Bacon finally relented and they were married on February 9, 1864 in the First Presbyterian Church in Monroe.Libbie Custer accompanied her husband riding in the ranks everywhere he was stationed: from the front lines in Virginia - where he became a Major General - to postwar assignments in Texas, Fort Riley, Kansas: and Fort Lincoln in Dakota Territory.

But as "first lady" of the army's Fort Lincoln, she set the social tone for the post. She hosted multiple events for the officers and area dignitaries. She was quickly assigned the title Mrs. Major-General, which in a letter to her husband she claimed that it made her sound "stuck-up" but she quickly dismissed it as knowing that George would prevent her from becoming so. 1873 O. S. Goff Photo of Ft. Lincoln Officers

Although Elizabeth lived fifty-seven years after her husband's death, she kept her marriage vows, fulfilling what she believed were her responsibilities as "the widow of a national hero" by lecturing around the world. Known throughout her life for her undying devotion to her husband, she was the only officer's wife to live in a tent on the edges of the Civil War battlefield, ride in the ranks with the soldiers, and accompany the 7th Cavalry on many of its expeditions. During those adventures, she wore her own uniformed dresses to show her dedication to her husband and the US Army.Forever a heated topic for debate, the controversy of George Armstrong Custer and his influence on the West fueled Libbie Custer's efforts to author three books on her husband's military career and her lifelong mission to counter the claim by then US President Ulysses S. Grant the defeat at Little Big Horn was solely due to Custer's leadership. Her three books, Boots and Saddles, (1885), Following the Guidon (1890); and Tenting on the Plains, (1893) were brilliant pieces of propaganda aimed at glorifying her dead husband’s memory. However she did not limit her publications to her husband and his military career. In 1900, she authored the children's story "The Kid" which was published in the St Nicholas Magazine, complete with illustrations.She died just days short of her 91st birthday on April 6, 1933 in her home in New York City. She is buried next to her husband at West Point Military Academy in New York.

Copy-edited article

Elizabeth “Libbie” Custer is best known as the wife and widow of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, who was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Elizabeth Clift Bacon was born April 8, 1842, in Monroe, Michigan, to Judge Daniel Stanton Bacon and Eleanor Sophia Page. She was the only one of the judge's children to survive to adulthood, and her father doted on her. Elizabeth, who stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and had chestnut-brown hair and blue-gray eyes, graduated as valedictorian of Monroe's Young Ladies' Seminary and Collegiate Institute. Her father hoped she would marry within their social class.

Elizabeth met Custer at a Thanksgiving gathering in 1862 during the Civil War and fell deeply in love with him. Her father initially opposed the marriage because Custer came from an undistinguished family and offered the uncertain life of an Army officer. After Custer became a brevet brigadier general, Judge Bacon relented. The couple married February 9, 1864, at First Presbyterian Church in Monroe.

Libbie accompanied her husband to assignments from the Virginia front, where he became a major general, to Texas, Fort Riley in Kansas, and Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory.

As Fort Lincoln's social leader, Libbie hosted events for officers and regional dignitaries. She was given the title “Mrs. Major-General.” In a letter to her husband, she wrote that it made her sound “stuck-up,” but added that George would prevent her from becoming so.

Elizabeth lived for 57 years after her husband's death and regarded public defense of his reputation as her responsibility as “the widow of a national hero.” She lectured around the world and was remembered for accompanying the Seventh Cavalry on many expeditions. During the Civil War, she lived in a tent near battlefields and rode with soldiers, wearing uniform-inspired dresses that expressed her dedication to her husband and the Army.

The controversy surrounding Custer and his role in the American West fueled Libbie's efforts to counter President Ulysses S. Grant's claim that Custer's leadership caused the defeat at the Little Bighorn. Her books Boots and Saddles (1885), Following the Guidon (1890), and Tenting on the Plains (1893) promoted and defended her husband's memory. She also wrote “The Kid,” a children's story published with illustrations in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1900.

Elizabeth Custer died at her New York City home April 6, 1933, two days before her 91st birthday. She is buried beside her husband at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.