Libbie Custer's “Last Stand”: Image Restoration,the Press,and Public Memory

Abstract

A review of 265 newspaper and magazine articles indicates that for decades Elizabeth Custer worked to restore the image of her husband, George Custer, following his controversial demise in 1876. These same activities simultaneously functioned as what scholars have identified as important ingredients for situating a person or event in public memory, particularly by connecting Custer to the “taming” of the West and the Civil War, preserving artifacts, and reminiscing about her husband's heroic qualities.