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Visit George Armstrong Custer's Hometown
On June 25, 1876, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry Regiment met a vastly larger coalition force of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors in an engagement that left 263 active Army and civilian personnel dead, with more than 100 additional casualties on the Native American side. It was a stunning victory for the leaders of the Lakota coalition, chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall. Among those killed on the field that day was Army commander George Armstrong Custer. The tragic event ensured that this media-friendly military officer would achieve at least one of his life’s goals: to be known by many generations to come.
Interestingly, Custer’s initial notoriety was generated in large part due to a successful advertising campaign in the 1880s by Anheuser-Busch, which commissioned a lithographic print of Custer’s Last Fight to sell beer using a fancifully inaccurate re-creation of the bloody battle. Custer went on to be known under a number of different guises, with characterizations ranging from valiant military officer and faithful husband who died for his country in the line of duty to Indian killer and incompetent commander who led troops into slaughter in a mission disreputable by its very purpose.
Visitors to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana can reconnect with the fateful battle by walking the grounds and witnessing the aging monuments rising from the rolling prairie landscape. It is perhaps a place where one might glean some insight into the disastrous decisions made by the red-neckerchief-wearing Civil War hero. But for those keenly interested in Custer, there may be a far better destination — not in the Wild West, but in the Midwest.
On the western shores of Lake Erie, some 35 miles south of Detroit, sits Custer’s family home: historic Monroe, Michigan. The controversial figure was not actually born here — he was born in New Rumley, Ohio, in 1839 — but he did spend much of his boyhood in Monroe with a half-sister, attended school here, and returned here to marry.
Monroe is no stranger to visiting history buffs, both Americans and researchers from abroad. But Custer history isn’t the only attraction in this town of 21,323. Monroe County itself contains more than 80 historical markers, 52 of which are located within Monroe city limits. These sites include a national park commemorating the battles of the River Raisin during the War of 1812, the headquarters of Chief Tecumseh, and, of course, numerous Custer-related sites, including his wife’s family home.
A tour of Monroe might not answer the question of the final disposition of George Armstrong Custer: fallen hero, slain butcher, both? We leave you to history to conclude for yourself.
Tour of Monroe Historic Sites
Monroe County Historical Museum
The mandatory first stop on your Custer tour. Friendly and knowledgeable — and Custer-agnostic — guides provide information and detailed maps to the various local sites, happily answering any questions you might have. After your introduction, slip upstairs to take in the museum’s own Custer exhibit. On display is an invitation to George and Elizabeth (known locally as Libbie) Custer’s wedding at First Presbyterian Church, just one block from the mu-seum. (The museum is located on the site of Libbie’s family home, which was moved a few blocks away.) Another interesting item is a lock of the flamboyant Custer’s famous golden hair, found in a letter written to Libbie and now hanging in a small frame on the wall.
Custer Equestrian Bronze
This imposing 27-foot bronze, designed by sculptor Edward Clark Potter, depicts Custer in stunning likeness mounted on a horse at Gettysburg. Commemorating his actions during the Civil War (he received six brevets and was made major general in the Union army before he was 26), Sighting the Enemy was erected by the state of Michigan in 1910. Both Elizabeth Bacon Custer and President Howard Taft attended the dedication ceremony of the monument that then cost $25,000.
First Presbyterian Church
George Custer and Libbie Bacon had known each other since childhood — he first set eyes on her when he was just 10 — but weren’t formally introduced until 1862. Libbie’s father, a prominent judge, wasn’t fond of the idea of a blacksmith’s son marrying his daughter, but after attaining the rank of brevet brigadier general in the Union army, Custer managed to pass muster with his future father-in-law and he and Libbie were married here on February 9, 1864. He was 24 years old, and she was just shy of 22.
Judge Bacon House
Beautifully restored and currently in use as a private residence, the Judge Bacon house is where Custer’s wife, Libbie, grew up.
Custer Family Plot at the Woodland Cemetery
Custer himself is not buried here — he was reinterred at West Point Cemetery after his body was retrieved from a shallow grave at Little Bighorn, where he’d been buried side by side with younger brother Tom, who was also killed on the battlefield — but many of his family members are, including a particularly interesting one named Col. George Armstrong Custer III. A Silver Star-decorated veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, Col. Custer was fighting the North Vietnamese nearly 100 years after the Battle of Little Bighorn when he received artillery support from an unlikely source — a member of B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Artillery, PFC James Franklin. Franklin, a full-blooded Sioux from Rapid City, South Dakota, went by another name: Chasing Horse, a descendant of the great Chief Crazy Horse. When asked about the association, the soldiers said all animosities were in the past — they were brothers in arms.
Nevin Custer Home
This land was purchased by Custer, his brother Nevin, and their wives in 1871. Little known is the fact that one Custer family member survived the Little Bighorn Expedition to return home to the family farm: One of Custer’s favorite war horses, Dandy, was sent here by surviving officers of the 7th Cavalry to live out his days without his fallen master. Libbie only stayed a year after the death of her husband before selling the house and 116 acres to Nevin and moving to New York. Whenever in the area, Buffalo Bill Cody and Little Annie Oakley would stop by to visit Dandy and the general’s father. It’s believed Dandy was laid to rest in the orchard behind the residence. (This private property may be viewed from the street, but please respect the owner’s privacy.)
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Historical markers and a visitors center commemorate the Battle of the River Raisin in Frenchtown (present-day Monroe), the largest battle fought on Michigan soil and one of the bloodiest during the War of 1812. On January 22, 1813, hundreds of Americans died; the following day pro-British Native Americans murdered dozens of wounded Kentucky volunteers who were too injured to march as prisoners.
On January 21, a memorial service will be held on the battlefield. Uniformed living historians representing the soldiers of the War of 1812 will place a wreath at the scene of the heaviest fighting and fire ceremonial salutes to honor the Americans, French, British, Canadians, and Native Americans who fought and died here.
Tecumseh’s Headquarters
Chief Tecumseh headquartered near Monroe for more than a month after the unsuccessful British and Indian siege of Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, Ohio, in July 1813. Americans had declared the War of 1812 against the British, who had allied with Native Americans to obstruct settler expansionism. One British tactic used Indian attacks to prevent American incursions into Canada from Ohio. When the British failed to get supplies to the warring Indians, Tecumseh and his men took food and shelter at the Frenchtown settlement along the River Raisin, eventually withdrawing to Canada.
Visiting Monroe
As Michigan’s official tourism campaign suggests — with frequent encouragement from actor and spokesperson Tim Allen — your trip begins at Michigan.org; before launching out on any historical quests to Monroe, visit this comprehensive website. The Monroe County Historical Museum is also a great travel resource: 734.240.7780, www.co.monroe.mi.us. For information on River Raisin National Battlefield Park, call 734.243.7136 or visit www.riverraisinbattlefield.org.
