Today, Historian Rick Britton talks about: Elizabeth “Libby” Custer–the wife of George Armstrong Custer–who was born in Monroe, Michigan, on this day in 1842. Talented, well-educated, and beautiful, Libby married Custer during the Civil War–after he’d become a brigadier general–in 1864.
After the war, George Custer remained in the military, taking his young wife along on his many postings out west. Long interested in writing, Libby found that army life provided her with excellent material. Her diaries, recording the harsh living conditions on the Texas frontier, later became the basis for her 1887 book, Tenting on the Plains. In it she wrote that some Texans were still trading slaves late in 1865–well after the end of the Civil War.
Following her husband’s death in 1876 at the Little Bighorn, Elizabeth learned that President Grant blamed Custer for the massacre of his 220 men. Determined to defend Custer, Elizabeth wrote several books recounting the couple’s life on the Plains and of course painting a biased portrait of her “gallant” husband. Libby died in 1933, at the age of 90. She’s best known today for her decades-long effort to celebrate her husband’s life and exonerate him for the massacre of the Seventh Cavalry.
And of course, there’s a Charlottesville connection!
Also: On Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m., at the Senior Center – Award-winning historian Rick Britton and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Duncan Campbell will present a FREE talk and slide show on one of our area’s greatest World War II heroes: Tech. Sgt. Frank Dabney Peregoy, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his amazing feat of heroism on June 8, 1944, 48 hours after the D-Day invasion. On April 10, 2016, we’ll honor Peregoy for his incredible courage under fire, celebrate his 100th birthday, and launch a campaign to correct the numerous historical markers on which his name is misspelled. Held at the Senior Center of Charlottesville, the talk is FREE and open to the public. For more information, call the Travel Office at (434) 974-6538.