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None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead:

The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.

Elizabeth Custer’s father, Judge Bacon was apprehensive about his daughter’s plans to accompany her new husband to the still-war-torn Red River region in Louisiana. The cities and towns that lined the Red River in the northern portion of the state were leveled during the Union Army’s efforts to capture Shreveport, the headquarters for the Confederate Army in the trans-Mississippi area during the Civil War.

Judge Bacon was worried that it wasn’t a safe place for wives of Union officers. As one of the last Confederate strongholds, the shipping port community was overrun with carpetbaggers, lawbreakers, and hostile Rebel soldiers who were angry about the outcome of the war and steadfast in holding their ground. The judge hoped Elizabeth would return to Monroe and live with him and her stepmother until George settled at a more congenial post.

“I’m going with Autie,” Elizabeth told her father. “I’m always going to follow him wherever he’s ordered, if I can. I’ve made up my mind to do that.”

To learn more about Elizabeth Bacon Custer and how she lived to glorify her husband’s memory read None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead.

Don’t Miss Out!  Enter now to win a copy of

None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead:

The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.

Elizabeth paraded proudly around a small table set with a pristinely polished silver tea service and silver dinnerware. The elegant tea service came from the men in George’s command, the 7^th Michigan Cavalry. The dinnerware was a gift from the 1^st Vermont Cavalry. Both were not only generous wedding presents, but also a show of support for the Boy General and his leadership skills.

Elizabeth adjusted a large, ceramic vase in the center of the table and stood back to admire the scene. Hanging over the table was a large photograph of George, resplendent in his crisp uniform. Elizabeth smiled at the image staring back at her. Eliza Brown, the Custer’s capable cook and maid, watched the delighted bride through a crack in the kitchen door as she continued to fuss with the items on the table in an effort to make everything as perfect as possible.

A myriad of troops was hustling around outside the sturdy, two-story farmhouse in Culpeper County, Virginia, near the small town of Stevensburg where Elizabeth and her new husband made their home. George rode into the winter encampment of the Union Army, barking orders at his regiment to get to their bunks and prepare for the evening meal. Hundreds of soldiers rushed about, doing their duties as ordered.

To learn more about Elizabeth Bacon Custer and how she lived to glorify her husband’s memory read None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead.

Don’t miss out. Enter to win a copy of

None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead: The Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer.

A full moon hovered over South Monroe Street, and beams of light from the gigantic orb filtered through a cluster of clouds. Twenty-one-year-old George Armstrong Custer stumbled through the scene, helped along by a friend who steadied his walk and kept him from falling. Both men were dressed in the uniform of the 5^th Cavalry, and both had been drinking. In fact, George was drunk. It was late, and apart from the two inebriated soldiers, the street was deserted.

It was the fall of 1861, and numerous leaves had dropped off the massive trees lining the thoroughfare, drifting across the path the men followed. George was making his way to his sister Ann Reed’s home, where he had been staying while recovering from a slight illness contracted after the Battle of Bull Run. George had carried dispatches to the Union troops holding their position against the Confederate Army lined along Bull Run Creek near a railroad center called Manassas Junction in Virginia. The battle had ended when the Union Army was ordered to fall back toward Washington, and the accompanying downpour of rain had left George suffering with chills and fever. He was sent back to Monroe to recuperate, and as George’s condition improved, he started venturing out to local taverns where his friends gathered.

Arm in arm with his school chum, an intoxicated George and his buddy staggered down the roadway, singing at the top of their lungs. The commotion woke his sister, who raced to the front window of her house, followed closely by her husband and children, to see who was disturbing the quiet, respectable neighborhood.

George was unaware that Judge Bacon, Elizabeth Bacon’s father had witnessed the scene. He also had no idea that Elizabeth herself had been gazing out of her upstairs bedroom window at the same moment. She wasn’t surprised at the sight, having seen other young men who’d had too much to drink. She considered his actions standard fare, and the following morning, barely remembered the spectacle George had made of himself the night before.

To learn more about Elizabeth Bacon Custer and how she lived to glorify her husband’s memory read None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead.

Coming in October!

Entertaining Women:  Actresses, Dancers, and Singers in the Old West.

This collection of short stories of the women who entertained the West in makeshift theaters and palaces built to showcase the divas who were beloved by emigrants to the “uncivilized” West will feature well-known and lesser known dancers, singers, and actresses and their exploits. Author Chris Enss will bring her comedic timing and long experience writing about the time and culture of the West to this collection.

Coming in October!

This collection of short stories of the women who entertained the West in makeshift theaters and palaces built to showcase the divas who were beloved by emigrants to the “uncivilized” West will feature well-known and lesser known dancers, singers, and actresses and their exploits. Author Chris Enss will bring her comedic timing and long experience writing about the time and culture of the West to this collection.