Wild West – June 2019

field itself. Expect relics
from 1970s to pop up
on that sacred ground.
For fun read Berger’s
follow-up novel, The
Return of Little Big Man,
where the frolic keeps
on giving.

The Plainsman (1936,
Paramount). This is
pure Hollywood, not
history. That said, all
the Old West gang—
including Wild Bill
Hickok, Buffalo Bill,
Calamity Jane, etc.—
make an appearance in
this Cecil B. DeMille
gem. Furthermore,
such figures and their
ilk—including Richard
Clarke, Frank Grouard,
Jean-Baptiste Richard,
Edmund Guerrier and
many more—were
real-life plainsmen.

BOOK
REVIEWS
The Other Custers:
Tom, Boston, Nevin
and Maggie in the
Shadow of George
Armstrong Custer,
by Bill Yenne, Skyhorse
Publishing, New York,
2018, $26.99
Most historical figures,
particularly those later
glamorized in film and
celebrated in popular
culture, tend to be pro-
filed as robustly inde-
pendent characters,
stand-alone entities
distanced from family
and other binding
relationships that
might have otherwise
influenced, colored
and shaped their per-
sonalities and fates.
There has always been
something romanti-
cally appealing about

a person fighting

adversarial condi-

tions without benefit

of support or allies.

George Armstrong

Custer has invariably

been depicted in such

a solitary fashion, the

tableau of the “Boy

General” surrounded

by the faceless dead

men of the 7th U.S.

Cavalry being among

the most iconic images

of 19th-century Amer-

icana. It is the emblem-

atic stuff of great myth

and legend, albeit not

a very accurate one.

Aside from ques-

tionable historical

record concerning

his Last Stand on

June 25, 1876, what

is often wrong about

the Custer image is

this notion of his lone

wolf status, for quite

the opposite was the

case. Custer was in

fact the epicenter

of a large brood, the

members of which

largely immersed

themselves in his

universe, a reality

acclaimed historian

Bill Yenne explores

in this highly enter-

taining and informa-

tive new work that

explores his familial

connections. Not only

was Custer married to

someone (Libby) who

remained steadfastly at

his side through most

of his military career,

but also Custer had

three devoted brothers

—Tom (himself a two-

time Medal of Honor

recipient), Boston and

Nevin—the first two

sharing his fate on the

Little Bighorn, as did

a brother-in-law and

a nephew.

Yenne, whose ear-

lier books include a

2009 biography of

Sitting Bull, became

fascinated by the ex-

tended Custer clan,

noting, for example,

how the brothers

incongruously shared

a strong penchant for

practical jokes and

were playing tricks

on each other almost

up until the time fate

brought them together

with Sitting Bull and

Crazy Horse on that

Montana Territory

battleground. He

conducted tireless

research to docu-

ment the heretofore

little-known personal

histories of still other

family members, all

of whom had either

gone unaddressed or

been wholly lost be-

neath the all-encom-

passing shadow of

their martyred rela-

tion. Yenne’s research

and documentation

is as impressive as it

is thorough.

Yenne also charted

out the Custer line to

its present and dwin-

dling descendants, in-

cluding George Arm-

strong Custer IV, who

provides a winning

forward. The Other

Custers is a rewarding

read on many levels,

for both the Custer

aficionado and anyone

interested in how, as a

culture, we mold and

shape our legends and

how, in the process,

some people get left

out of the mix.

—Bruce Dettman

Old West Show-

down: Two Authors

Wrangle Over the

Truth About the

Mythic Old West,

by Bill Markley and

Kellen Cutsforth,

TwoDot, Guilford,

Conn., and Helena,

Mont. 2018, $22.95

Those of you who hate

hearing that George

Custer messed up at

the June 1876 Battle

of the Little Bighorn

will likely love Bill

Markley’s take on the

subject: “If [Major Mar-

cus] Reno had not been

drunk, and if [Captain

Frederick] Benteen had

obeyed orders, Custer

and his men might

have survived the

Battle of the Little

Bighorn.” On the other

hand, those of you who

insist the former Boy

General messed up big

time will enjoy Kellen

Cutsforth’s assessment:

“The facts in this

matter are clear:

George Armstrong

Custer made numer-

ous egregious errors

that led to the deaths

of nearly 300 men.”

Readers get both sides

of a controversial story

that has been debated

ever since news of

Custer’s Last Stand hit

the newsstands. Neither

Custer lovers nor Cus-

ter haters are likely to

be swayed by what

they learn here, but

it makes for interest-

ing reading to have

the opposing views

presented not only

well but also side

by side.

The “duelists,”

both members of

Western Writers of

America and past

contributors to Wild

West, use the same

approach to debate

nine other historic

tidbits almost all read-

ers of this magazine

will know something

about. Like the Little

Bighorn battle, the

Gunfight at the O.K.

Corral has triggered

more differences of

opinion than you can

shake Doc Holliday’s

cane at, and fans of

Old West showdowns

seem as divided today

as the Cowboys and

the Earps (plus Doc)

were in October 1881.

Cutsforth clearly sides

with the winners, “In

my opinion, any case

made against the Earps

is nothing more than

revisionist history in a

vain attempt to make

villains out of victims.”

Markley makes a case

for the Clantons and

REVIEWS

JUNE 2019 WILD WEST 83