Custer dress

[major bill]

I went to the museum in Monroe Michigan. So this item was worn by George A. Custer. He apparently wore it before he went to West Point.

Well I did title the post "Custer dress", and it is a dressing gown worn by him.

 

[ikesdad]

I didn't need to know that

 

[major bill]

Post Civil War item.

 

[major bill]

Not sure these are original.

 

[Kurt G]

Very odd . I guess what happens in Monroe stays in Monroe …..or would this have been from New Rumley , Ohio ?

 

[major bill]

I take it the dressing gown was worn when he was young or perhaps a baby. So he probably wore it years before he went to West Point. But still he did wear it before he went to West Point.

 

[Zella]

I went to the museum in Monroe Michigan. So this item was worn by George A. Custer. He apparently wore it before he went to West Point.

View attachment 194238
Well I did title the post "Custer dress", and it is a dressing gown worn by him.

I guess he was always stylish.

 

[Kurt G]

It looks very long .

 

[major bill]

It looks very long .

That is what I thought. Did babies wear long dressing gowns?

 

[Zella]

That is what I thought. Did babies wear long dressing gowns?

To my (admittedly inexpert), eye, it looks more like something a child would wear than a baby. Not sure on the dimensions, but unless the photo is distorting the size, it looks way too big for most babies to me.

 

[Kurt G]

Many years ago there was a nice collection of Plains Indian artifacts collected by Custer on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts. I haven't been there in a very long time and I remember they were "on loan".

 

[major bill]

This was worn by Libbie Custer.

 

[Kurt G]

Libby Custer and Helen Dortch Longstreet are two women I would have loved to have talked to .

 

[Zella]

Truthfully, I find Libbie more interesting than George, though I've been curious about him since childhood. She was a remarkably well-educated woman for her time and seemed to have much better political instincts than he did.

 

[Kurt G]

I'm a fan of his during the war . Afterwards....not so much.

 

[Zella]

I was pretty obsessed with the Little Bighorn as a kid, but I didn't actually get around to reading about Custer's Civil War service or really any other part of his life until I was an adult. I'm glad I did because it definitely fleshed him out as a much more complex person than I had always assumed.

I think the sort of duties he performed in the Civil War much better suited his personality and strengths.

 

[WJC]

Thanks for posting these photos!
As some may have seen in films set in earlier periods, it was common for men to wear 'dressing gowns' to bed- the pajamas of the day.

 

[PrivateBrooke]

Thanks for posting these photos!
As some may have seen in films set in earlier periods, it was common for men to wear 'dressing gowns' to bed- the pajamas of the day.

I remember in Gods and Generals, Anna and Stonewall seemed to have matching nightgowns. I thought it was cute.

Also that vest is pretty, but then it was Libbie, so to be expected. I'm quite a fan if you couldn't tell....

 

[WJC]

I remember in Gods and Generals, Anna and Stonewall seemed to have matching nightgowns. I thought it was cute.

Also that vest is pretty, but then it was Libbie, so to be expected. I'm quite a fan if you couldn't tell....

Thanks for your response.
Many things are overlooked when Custer's name comes up. He was NOT the character many may remember from Little Big Man. He was a prankster, fun-loving, intelligent, cultured, thoughtful and had a keen interest in science. His greatest asset by far was his loving wife: a true friend and a remarkable woman in her own right. Her books, written about his adventures and their life together are well written and easy for us to read, with simple, straightforward prose.

 

[James N.]

Very odd . I guess what happens in Monroe stays in Monroe …..or would this have been from New Rumley , Ohio ?

Although Custer was born in New Rumley and no doubt that's where he would've worn this, there's currently nothing there but a commemorative park: https://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/custer-state-memorial-new-rumley-ohio.92627/

On the other hand, Custer's adopted home was Monroe where he'd lived as a boy and during the war married Elizabeth "Libby" Bacon, daughter of the local judge. For more about Monroe and the Custers: https://www.civilwartalk.com/threads/george-and-libbie-custers-monroe-michigan.100034/