Publication date:
03 September 2015Length of book:
388 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442251861
Custer’s Last Stand remains one of the most iconic events in American history and culture. Had Custer prevailed at the Little Bighhorn, the victory would have been noteworthy at the moment, worthy of a few newspaper headlines. In defeat, however tactically inconsequential in the larger conflict, Custer became legend. In Inventing Custer: The Making of an American Legend, Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown bridge the gap between the Custer who lived and the one we’ve immortalized and mythologized into legend. While too many books about Custer treat the Civil War period only as a prelude to the Little Bighorn, Caudill and Ashdown present him as a product of the Civil War, Reconstruction Era, and the Plains Indian Wars. They explain how Custer became mythic, shaped by the press and changing sentiments toward American Indians, and show the many ways the myth has evolved and will continue to evolve as the United States continues to change.
In the fourth book of a series exploring the myths and reality of famous Civil War leaders, University of Tennessee professors Caudill and Ashdown demonstrate how George Armstrong Custer’s Civil War experience is critical to understanding his personality, and describe the multiple interpretations of Custer’s life and his influence on American history, society, and culture. The first half of this well-researched book highlights differing interpretations of Custer’s significant Civil War experiences and successes. The second half of the book sketches his frontier experience and includes a short overview of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, with the bulk of the text devoted to a detailed survey of media interpretations of his exploits. For those familiar with Custer’s history, these are the most interesting sections of the book, as the authors analyze historical interpretations of Custer and his role in varied works of fiction and nonfiction. Finally, Caudill and Ashdown look at the influence of the Custer myth on popular perceptions of Native Americans and on other elements of popular culture. Well written and informative, this accessible volume is a valuable addition to serious Custer scholarship.