Chapter One. Introduction
Chapter Two. Custer Before the Civil War
Chapter Three. Custer During the Civil War
Chapter Four. Custer in the West and the Last Stand
Chapter Five. Custer in the News
Chapter Six. The Frontier and the Fittest
Chapter Seven. Custer Among the Historians
Chapter Eight. Custer in Literature and Popular Culture
Chapter Nine. Custer in Myth and Memory
Chapter Ten. Conclusions/Custer in the Future
Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown are professors of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee. They are co-authors of Sherman’s March in Myth and Memory (2008) The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest (2005) and The Mosby Myth: A Confederate Hero in Life and Legend (2002).
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.
*Publishers Weekly*
In this fourth book in a series that explores the lives of the US
Civil War’s most mythical figures, Caudill and Ashdown note
that George Armstrong Custer has become more myth than
reality, a product not only of journalists and future historians,
but also of Custer himself. Unfortunately, this myth has led
historians to report Custer’s Civil War life as merely a ‘prelude’
to the events at Little Bighorn. And, once formed, Custer’s
myth continued to morph as historians attempted to reinterpret
US-Native American relations. Caudill and Ashdown, however,
attempt to analyze the whole Custer to better understand how his
Civil War experience, coupled with the nation’s attitudes toward
Natives and its coming to grips with a changing society within
Reconstruction, created the immortal Custer at the Little
Bighorn. Ultimately, the authors successfully peel
back the layers of mythos surrounding Custer to reveal how the
ordinary life becomes extraordinary. Thoroughly researched
and well written, this work is a must-have for those interested in
the historiography of Custer, the role of media in creating myths,
and the evolution of memory and history studies. Summing Up: Highly
recommended. All levels/libraries.
*CHOICE*
[This] book is a welcome and useful new addition to the Custer
library. . . . The sections on the development of the myths and
legends is noteworthy.
*Cannonball - York Blog*
More than 1,600 books have been written about Custer, most dealing
with his final fight in southern Montana, and it would seem
unlikely for new insights to be found in such an examined figure.
Yet Inventing Custer makes a real contribution to the field,
examining the life, times, and cultural impact of a man Caudill and
Ashdown describe as 'a scorpion who could sting his victims and in
the end wound up stinging himself.' . . . [T]he authors do an
admirable job of showing how Custer’s legend began and how, often
under his own direction, it grew to large size even before his
untimely demise. . . .Inventing Custer presents plenty of evidence
to show that, by making such a successful transition from life to
legend, Custer became perfectly suited to reflect American ideals
of the day—whatever those ideals may be.
*Chapter16*
Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown’s study of Custer’s life and the
creation of his legacy offers a significant contribution to Custer
literature. Caudill and Ashdown, professors of journalism and
electronic media at the University of Tennessee, have relied on
extensive published primary and secondary sources to produce a
volume that is part biography, part historiography, and part memory
study. Throughout the book, the authors do a commendable job of
recounting Custer’s life—his birth in New Rumley, Ohio, time as a
cadet at West Point, career during the Civil War, campaigns during
the Indian Wars, and annihilation at Little Big Horn in 1876. . . .
Beyond Caudill’s and Ashdown’s insightful analysis of Custer’s
Civil War service, historians of our American Iliad will find that
the authors parse a great deal of historiography throughout their
superb book—illustrating the roles that historians have played in
adding to Custer’s legend. . . . There is little to criticize in
this well-balanced, prodigiously researched, and masterfully
crafted study. This book is not only essential reading for Custer
aficionados, but for anyone who seeks to understand how a
historical legacy is created, manipulated, and changes with the
evolving moods of an ever-changing nation.
*The Civil War Monitor*
Inventing Custer is an excellent review of the principal architects
and audiences of multiple Custers who have come to pass.
*Journal of Southern History*
'Daring, dashing, and suddenly dead,' Custer's brief, violent
soldier's life was the prototype for American celebrity, as Edward
Caudill and Paul Ashdown explain in their fascinating summation and
unwinding of Custer the man from undying legend. Read this rich
book to understand why the Last Stand lives on and on.
*Marc Wortman, author of The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of
Atlanta and 1941: Fighting the Shadow War (forthcoming)*
As historians of myth correction, Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown
take on a historical figure that everyone thinks they know all
about. Read this book to find out what Custer was really like. You
will be amazed at what you learn.
*John F. Marszalek, Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus,
Mississippi State University; executive director and managing
editor, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library*
The Civil War made George Armstrong Custer an American hero. The
Battle of the Little Bighorn transformed him into a mythic figure,
whose death is a part of the American saga. Caudill and Ashdown
separate the reality from the myth in their beautifully written
Inventing Custer: The Making of an American Legend.
*David B. Sachsman, West Chair of Excellence, University of
Tennessee at Chattanooga; director of the Symposium on the 19th
Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression*
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