As this is being typed, Custer living historian Steve Alexander is on the same trail that the general rode in 1876 on his way to the Battle of Little Big Horn. Look for regular updates in the Monroe Evening News or online at monroenews.com.

The first two installments of this series are linked below:

1. Custer’s Ride Revisited by Local Reenactor
2. Revisiting Gen. George A. Custer’s Last Ride: The Custer House

Monroe’s Custer Celebration has made a YouTube account and will be uploading movies of interest to all Custer buffs and history lovers. Here’s our first video inviting visitors to Monroe for the 2008 Custer Celebration:

Recent foot surgery has kept me immobilized, so I’ve spent this rainy Mother’s Day lounging on the couch reading Robert M. Utley’s Cavalier in Buckskin. This interesting read has led me to ask a couple of questions. (I’ll leave the military strategy debates to others, I like to know personal details). Anyone know the answers?

1) While George was fond of the ladies and they of him, Utley states there was another Monroe girlfriend before Libbie - Fanny Fiefield. Any armchair historians or scholars know any details about Fanny? Did she stay in Monroe? Get married? Start a prosperous business?

2) Several books state Custer gave up drinking after making a public spectacle of himself in front of Libbie’s home. I was told Custer was drinking in a local tavern where McGeady’s Town Pub now occupies. Does anyone know the name of the original tavern? And what exactly did Custer do that humiliated him so?

3) Eliza Brown Denison, the Custer’s runaway slave/companion/cook. Does anyone know anything about her?

4) In the book When Custer Walked The Streets of Old Monroe, author Steve Alexander mentions George Custer purchased Meloche Liniment specifically from Pauline Meloche, one of the Meloche Drugstore owners. While Custer was friends with her brother Frank Meloche, Pauline “didn’t appreciate Custer killing Indians!” according to her great nephew Frenchie Beneteau. Beneteau states his great aunt “never married, but took care of a lot of homeless people including the local Indians whom she fed and cared for.”

Imagine the conversations that must have transpired between Pauline Meloche and George Custer. Does anyone have any information on this fascinating lady?

Tickets for the Grand Ball are now on sale for just $35 each. Ticket price for this elegant and fun affair includes: soiree, dinner, dancing.
Reserve your tickets today. Email us at CusterGAC@aol.com and we’ll send you contact information.

The culminating event of Monroe’s Custer Celebration 2008 is a lavish soiree and ball honoring Russia’s Grand Duke Alexis. Join us for this memorable occasion and Dance with the Stars of days gone by.

Hobnob with royalty, distinguished generals and military officials, dignitaries and prominent citizens. So far the celebrated guest list includes the Grand Duke Alexis (guest of honor), General George Custer, and Buffalo Bill Cody. We’ll keep you posted as this esteemed guest list grows.

You won’t want to miss this grand affair! Only a limited amount of tickets will be available. As soon as we know ticket details, we’ll post them here. Meanwhile, save the date - Saturday, October 11, 2008.

I have to give props to my co-blogger Ronda Stiffler for designing this excellent and informative site. The blogroll is fantastic! Ronda has made research easy. A wealth of information is just a click-of-a-link away.

I spent the past hour learning more about George Custer by reading a compilation of newspaper articles catalogued by the Monroe County Library System. These articles are easily accessed by clicking on the Custer in the News link found under our blogroll. What an excellent resource for teachers, scholars, students and history buffs.

Some interesting reads include a local account of Custer’s wedding, a series of articles on the Indian Expedition, a letter penned by Custer himself to the “editors of the world,” Sitting Bull’s purported account of the Battle of Little Big Horn, and an article documenting the return of the remains of Boston Custer (George’s brother) and Henry Armstrong Reed (Custer’s nephew) who died alongside Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

I also found written evidence supporting the belief that Dandy, the General’s favorite horse, is indeed buried on Neville Custer’s farm located on North Custer Road.

A 1922 Detroit Free Press article “Monroe Recalls When Custer Rode to Battle with the Horse” states: ”The horse died when about 30 years old and was buried in an orchard on the Custer farm, along the winding River Raisin.”

Time to go. I want to read some more articles.

Posted by Karin 

One of the highlights of the 2007 Custer Week Celebration was my visit to the Monroe County Historical Museum. As I explained in a previous post, interesting and rare historical artifacts pertaining to Custer were on display.

One such exhibit, the Battle of Trevilian Station, was a major coup for the museum to obtain, and you could say - a homecoming of sorts. Dave Ingall, MCHM assistant director explained the collection contained Custer’s personal effects captured on June 11, 1964 by Confederates at Trevilian Station, Virginia.

Belongings seized included the dress coat worn by Custer when he married Libbie as well as the 1860 silver Tiffany presentation sword given to him by the 5th Michigan Cavalry. Custer never saw his belongings again.

Shawna Mazur published an excellent, in-depth article entitled Custer’s First Stand: The Battle of Trevilian Station in the January/February 2008 issue of the River Raisin News & Dispatch, a bi-monthly newsletter published by the MCHM, Monroe County Historical Commission and Monroe County Historical Society.

According to the article, it’s believed James F. Blair, a Confederate Texas Cavalryman, is one of the captors of Custer’s wagon.

Blair purportedly took the items home to Texas as a souvenir where they remained for over 135 years - until discovered - stashed under a bed.

In 2000, Custer’s belongings were auctioned to the public and purchased by a group of Idaho antiques collectors.

“It took over a century, but the General’s items finally found their way home again,”writes Mazur.

Yet now on the second floor of the museum they are carefully laid out for all to view. It is truly fitting that they are home again and reunited with that red and white silk guidon, with its jagged corner, that resides permanently in the Custer display.

“What a rare opportunity for these pieces, that belong together, to be displayed right next to each other. Yet, it won’t last, so don’t wait, come visit the museum today and contemplate the past before these pieces once again vanish into history.”

Originally, the Battle at Trevilian Station collection was on loan to the MCHM through January 2008. The exhibit has been extended indefinitely. So hurry! There’s no telling if or when this exhibit may return. Or, as Mazur poetically puts it: “before these pieces once again vanish into history. “

Wouldn’t it be great if a major benefactor stepped forth to insure this wonderful collection could stay in Monroe permanently?

When I was about seven or eight, I used to sneak away whenever possible for a few moments of adventure with one of my older brother’s paperback Western books.

One of my favorites had short stories on different Western personalities like Buffalo Bill Cody. Inside was an illustration of a man who looked to me to be 7 feet tall, with a buckskin jacket and long golden locks. Years later, I was able to visit his grave in Golden, Colorado with my family.

Buffalo Bill may not have really been 7 feet tall, but he has enthralled children for over one hundred and thirty years. His strength, bravery and love of showmanship are legendary throughout the world.

Most Monroe residents know that Buffalo Bill and Monroe’s own General Custer were friends. They, along with General Phil Sheridan, accompanied the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia on a buffalo hunt out west in 1872 during the duke’s visit to this country.

This period of time in history is the theme of Monroe’s Custer Celebration 2008. Monroe will be visited by Buffalo Bill re enactor Kirk Shapland who will share stories of his times with General Custer. More details will be posted as we near the dates. In the meantime, enjoy this link to the Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave.