Following the Guidon

The wife of a famous soldier on campaign on the Western Plains of America

Despite a successful career during the Civil War and a meteoritic elevation in rank as the 'Boy General,' it is the later career of George Armstrong Custer-as the charismatic commander of the 7th Cavalry at war with the Plains Indians on the Western frontier-that has most captured the public imagination. Whilst this has much to do with his final defeat at Little Big Horn, it remains the case that the history of this pivotal period of United States history could not be told without including Custer as a central figure. So we have much for which to thank Elizabeth 'Libby' Custer. As her husband's almost constant companion through this period she has not only chronicled the man, but the times, the history of its most notable events, life in the army of the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, the experience of army wives and families and a plethora of anecdotes and minutiae that is invaluable to the historian-professional or amateur. This book recounts the period where Custer campaigned with some success against his adversaries, the Indian tribes. This book's predecessor, Tenting on the Pains and its successor, Boots and Saddles, are also available as Leonaur editions in soft cover and hard back with dust jacket.