In her first year of marriage (1864-1865) to General George Armstrong Custer; Libbie Custer witnessed the Civil War firsthand. Her experiences of danger; hardship; and excitement made ideal material for a book; one that she worked on for years in later life but ultimately never published.In this volume; Arlene Reynolds has produced a readable narrative of Libbie Custer's life during the war years by chronologically reconstructing Libbie's original; unpublished notes and diaries found in the archives of the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. In these reminiscences; Libbie Custer adds striking; eloquent details to the Civil War story as she describes her life both in camp and in Washington. Her stories of incidents such as fording a swollen river sidesaddle on horseback; dancing at the Inaugural Ball near President Lincoln; and watching the massive review of the Army of the Potomac after the surrender have the engrossing quality of a well-written novel.For general readers and students of women's history; this book tells a fascinating story of a sheltered girl's maturation into a courageous woman in the crucible of war. And for both devotees and detractors of her husband; it offers an intimate glimpse into his youth; West Point years; and early military service.
#5218342 in Books 2005-02-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .50 x 7.54 x 9.88l; #File Name: 027598621796 pages
Review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Very good introduction for 96 pagesBy YodaThis book provides a very good succint introduction to its topic for its 96 page length (can be read in about hour and a half to two hours). The book starts out by giving a very good overview of the diplomatic and military situation at the time of the campaign. Then an overview of the armies involved is presented. This discusses the condition of the army; officer quality and the quality and cooperation of the high commands. The weaknesses of the French army; pariculary inexperience troops and lack of cavalry/horses is emphasizes. This is particularly important as this is what really prevented Napoleon from achieving a decisive victory and crushing his opponents armies as opposed to merely defeating them (an allowing them to regroup for a second chance). The development of the battle is well discussed and well illustrated in the maps provided. A section on the aftermath is also provided and is quite good.The book is also well illustrated primarily with contemporary etchings and drawings. For the figurine builder there are also many contemporary illustartions of troops but the problem is that nearly all of them are in black and white; hence limiting their usefullness. A few color plates illustrating troops and their kits would have been nice to have included.Overall; a very good introduction to the battle for the reader who only has about 1.5 - 2 hours to spend on the topic.
