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None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.
Elizabeth Custer from the silent film The Pottery Maker.
It was rare for women in the 19th century to accompany their husbands on adventures that were so exciting they seemed almost fictitious. It was rarer still for women to write about those adventures in books designed to bring glory to their husband’s name. Such was the life and career of Elizabeth Custer who lived primarily in reflected wonder of her gallant husband, George Armstrong Custer, one of the most charming and controversial soldiers the country ever produced.
When young George Custer visited his sister in Monroe, Michigan, he was introduced to, and quickly swept off his feet by Elizabeth Bacon. Judge Bacon, Elizabeth’s father, was not initially impressed with the young army captain with yellow curls. So young George rode away and came back two years later as a Brigadier-General, the youngest in the army, and he and Elizabeth were married in 1864. Their honeymoon was spent in a war zone since it was the last year of the Civil War. This gave Elizabeth Custer her first taste of what would become her life – the uncertainty and discomfort of army life.
In the 12 years the Custers were together, Elizabeth lived history. She saw the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox, and later was given the table at which the terms of surrender were signed. After the war, George was sent to Texas and the Plains States to fight the Indians, and so began for Elizabeth the most thrilling events of her life.
The Custers were devoted to one another and valued the time they spent together. Not only did Elizabeth follow George across the frontier, but she also went with him into the field. Though, at times, she lived in tents alongside members of the 7th Cavalry, the army didn’t allow Elizabeth to go with George everywhere. General Custer and the military considered some assignments too hazardous for women. During the time they had to be separated, George and Elizabeth wrote each other constantly.
The Custers were very much in love, but there were periods when they antagonized each other. Occasionally, George or Elizabeth would use the rumor mill or drop hints to make the other one jealous. Sometimes, Elizabeth would write her husband just to tell him how annoyed he made her. Fearing her letters might be read by someone other than George, she wrote all such correspondences in shorthand. He wasn’t always as discreet. One time when he was particularly irritated with Elizabeth, he cut and pasted a note together that strongly expressed his feelings. The message he sent her is shown below.
The duo inevitably arrived on the other side of each difficulty closer than they were before and more committed to their marriage.
Elizabeth’s thrilling life adventure with George lasted until that unfortunate day when Custer and his troops made their immortal last stand against the Sioux Indians at the battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. During the battle, Elizabeth was only a few hundred miles away, waiting bravely for news of the outcome. From that day forward, she lived to glorify her husband’s memory and keep his heroism forever green in the annals of brave fighters.
Elizabeth lived out the majority of her life after George’s death in New York City. She made it a point to correspond with the veterans who campaigned with George. At times she would handwrite more than 300 such letters in a year. Every tie to her husband was sacred to her. She wrote about her time with him with pride, and spoke of the Indians without bitterness or resentment.
To perpetuate the memory of George, Elizabeth wrote three books that graphically related their adventures in Kansas, Texas, and other places where George fought the Indians. She also wrote countless articles and lectured all over the country both to honor her husband, and to refute any disparaging stories that rose around the legend of General Custer.
To learn more about Elizabeth Bacon Custer and her marriage to
George Armstrong Custer read
None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.
