Northern Light
Lt. Colonel
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2014
You know, I don't think that is Libby. Even in old age, she was still lovely. Maybe Custer's Mum?
Hmm... interesting. His mom was born in 1807; photos 117-123 were taken in 1873. She would be 66 years old. The IDs with photos K-120 and K-123 are from the book. In K-122 I did not identify her. Benjamin Hogdson is between George and Libbie in K-122. The woman looks the same in the photos.You know, I don't think that is Libby. Even in old age, she was still lovely. Maybe Custer's Mum?
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K-116 http://www.sonofthesouth.net/union-generals/custer/pictures/custer-portrait.jpg
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K-117 No source
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K-118 Heritage Auctions
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K-119 Custer far left. http://www.digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/uw-ndshs/id/690/rec/12
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K-120 No source. Top row - Agnes Bates, Lt James Calhoun, Margaret Custer Calhoun. Middle row - Libbie, George, Fred Calhoun in front of Custer, Capt. William Thompson.
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K-122 Our hero third from left. http://www.delsjourney.com/close-ups/us/travels_mw/comanche.htm
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K-123 George, Libbie, Fort Abraham Lincoln, 1873. http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3774981?image_id=3724676
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K-124 https://archive.org/stream/boygeneralstoryo00cust#page/n9/mode/2up
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K-125 No source.
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K-127 http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/216333
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K-128 http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/216333
Fantastic pictures, really enjoyed them. K-124 is interesting, any idea what the story is behind the statue on the desk? I'm also wondering what was in the case down by his feet. I see that it had his initials across the front of the case.
Thanks for this!! The wikipedia article about Rogers mentions that Custer had one of his statues.I really hadn't noticed the statue, but it's one from a series of similar ones, all by sculptor John Rogers. They were in reality cheap plaster knock-offs but produced cheaply that way to make them affordable to the masses of Union veterans and their families. Unfortunately, surviving examples are often found in bad condition, chipped, discolored, and/or broken. They could be quite large, and I have seen some on display in older museums. Popular subjects included Taking the Oath, showing a beautiful Southern Belle and a Union Reconstruction occupation officer; and Council of War, showing Lincoln, Stanton, and Grant in an office setting. Others were of belles and beaux or bucolic "natural" scenes.
@Waterloo50 is curious and asks a question about the statue. James N. knows about the sculptor and his work. I get curious and dig deeper. This kind of cooperation among the members is one of the strengths of this forum. Thanks everyone for making this website informative and enjoyable!
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Wounded to the Rear or One More Shot
Parian Marble - 20" high
Rogers groups, thought & wrought by John Rogers, by Mr. and Mrs. Chetwood Smith; with introduction by Clarence S. Brigham.
by Smith, Chetwood, 1873-
Published 1934
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106001447793;view=1up;seq=79;size=150
I'm guessing that Custer did not have the marble original?
Thanks. You might have learned in school more about Custer than I did. I remember old movies shown on the TV. Never saw a re-enactment.I've really enjoyed looking at the pictures that you have posted of Custer, for me personally he's one of the most interesting characters of his time, I was 6 years old when I first heard about him, as kids, our school playground would see many re-enactments of Custer's battles, its quite odd really when you think of a load of young English kids talking about a person that was born a world away from England, he certainly made an impact on history and he definitely understood how to promote his image.
This is a picture of a Cheyenne warrior waiting to ambush some unsuspecting member of the 7th Cavalry.
Thanks. You might have learned in school more about Custer than I did. I remember old movies shown on the TV. Never saw a re-enactment.
I'm guessing that Custer did not have the marble original?
@Waterloo50 is curious and asks a question about the statue. James N. knows about the sculptor and his work. I get curious and dig deeper. This kind of cooperation among the members is one of the strengths of this forum. Thanks everyone for making this website informative and enjoyable!
View attachment 113973
Wounded to the Rear or One More Shot
Parian Marble - 20" high
Rogers groups, thought & wrought by John Rogers, by Mr. and Mrs. Chetwood Smith; with introduction by Clarence S. Brigham.
by Smith, Chetwood, 1873-
Published 1934
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106001447793;view=1up;seq=79;size=150
I'm guessing that Custer did not have the marble original?
I wonder what Custer thought about the figures, they seem to take pride of place on his desk. It gives me the impression that he appreciated the common soldier, what was his relationship like with the ordinary rank and file?One reason Rogers' statuary was so popular can be attributed to the realism and correctness of detail; for example, all the accouterments depicted in this grouping are accurate and the subjects are wearing them correctly. This would no doubt be important to a contemporary purchaser. I assume your question about Custer is tongue-in-cheek, but one reason for the popularity of these was their relative affordability. The figures themselves were cast around wire "skeletons" but this mode of strengthening was unsatisfactory for something big and bulky that needed to be moved excessively, as might likely be the case with the belongings of frontier army officers like Custer!
I wonder what Custer thought about the figures, they seem to take pride of place on his desk. It gives me the impression that he appreciated the common soldier, what was his relationship like with the ordinary rank and file?
Thanks James, I appreciate that you took the time to post that.Civil War volunteers like his men of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade and Third Cavalry Division, great; regular soldiers on the frontier, not so much! Members of his brigade copied his dress, even adopting the red scarf he wore as a neckerchief, and genuinely mourned when he was killed. There was a definite problem with soldiers out west, beginning with desertions from his command when it marched into Texas at the start of Reconstruction. Most of them were volunteers who hadn't been part of his previous wartime commands and wanted nothing more than to join the thousands of other volunteers who were being mustered out and going home. This was a totally new experience for Custer and he reacted violently knowing nothing but the discipline of the Old Army he'd learned at West Point and he was considered a martinet accordingly.
Things failed to improve even after the creation of the 7th Cavalry because the frontier was notorious as a place for the dregs of Eastern society to come to escape problems. In the harsh winters on the plains, it was common for what were called snowbirds to enlist in the fall, subsist on army rations all winter in a snug fort, then look for the first chance to desert the next spring. This was exacerbated whenever forts were located near routes to the goldfields in Montana or Colorado! This was less a problem on active campaigns because the wary wouldn't want to get caught by hostiles while running away from the army, but one such incident on the plains got Custer in a great deal of trouble when he ordered some deserters to be shot on the spot if apprehended! It also didn't help that for long periods of time Custer was absent on leave in places more to his liking such as Monroe, Mich. or New York City.
On fact I like to stress when discussing the Little Big Horn is how unusual it was for an entire regiment to be TOGETHER on campaign; usually they were broken into battalions and even separate companies. The 7th had acted as one at the Washita and in the Black Hills but it was unusual. The five companies (C, E, F, I, and L) that Custer led to their deaths were those that made up the garrison of Fort Abraham Lincoln and were therefore the officers and men Custer knew best and probably favored; brother Tom commanded Co. C and brother-in-law Jimmie Calhoun led another one, and others like regimental adjutant William Cooke, George Yates and Myles Keogh were friends. That meant that of the survivors, few were part of the "Custer clique" and several openly hostile like the jealous Capt. Fred Benteen or at best indifferent like Major Marcus Reno. Only Capt. Weir was another real friend, and alcoholism killed him before he could testify at the Reno court of inquiry. This meant that going forward there few other than his widow Libby who had personal knowledge of or spoke favorably about him.
... I just can't fathom him out, on the one hand he appears to be brash, self-centred and foolish but on the other, he appeared fearless (Cavalry charge at Aldie, Virginia) and his many alleged brave exploits during the civil war, the press loved him, Harpers weekly couldn't get enough of him. Perhaps that is why people find him so fascinating, he was a true enigma.