Elizabeth Bacon Custer
Elizabeth Bacon Custer (née Bacon; April 8, 1842 – April 4, 1933) was an American author and public speaker who was the wife of Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, United States Army. She spent most of their twelve-year marriage in relative proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the American Civil War and subsequent postings on the Great Plains as a commanding officer in the United States Cavalry.
Elizabeth Bacon Custer | |
|---|---|
Custer, 1864 | |
| Born | Elizabeth Clift Bacon April 8, 1842 Monroe, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | April 4, 1933 (aged 90) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Pen name | Libbie Bacon |
| Occupation | Author, lecturer |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Period | 1885–93 |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Notable works | Boots and Saddles, Tenting on the Plains, Following the Guidon |
| Spouse | |
Left nearly destitute in the aftermath of her husband's death, she became an outspoken advocate for his legacy through her popular books and lectures. Largely as a result of her decades of campaigning on his behalf, General Custer's image as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of Custer's Last Stand was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death.
Elizabeth Custer never remarried and died in 1933, four days short of her 91st birthday. She has been portrayed by a number of actresses, starting in the 1940s in films and later on television.