Histories of the American West at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

The Clark Library holds a substantial collection of books and newspaper clippings related to infamous U.S. military officer, General George Armstrong Custer. Custer led genocidal attacks against the Southern Cheyenne along the Washita River in Oklahoma (1868) and Sitting Bull’s (1831–1890) Sioux and Cheyenne community along the Little Bighorn River in southern Montana (1876). Custer was killed during the latter excursion. Many of the books in our collection were written by his wife, Elizabeth B. Custer (1842–1933), who embellished, defended, and sensationalized his life after his death in 1876. 

Collection material includes: 

• “Boots and saddles” or Life in Dakota with General Custer (1885): A biography of Custer’s life in the Dakota Territories written by his wife, Elizabeth B. Custer. 

• Collection of George A. Custer Material (1877–1916): A box of 20 items, including newspaper clippings, articles, and typewritten copies of articles collected by Charles N. Kessler.

• My life on the plains, or, Personal experiences with Indians (1874): An autobiography by Custer presenting his bigoted perspective on Indigenous life in the Plains.

• Tenting on the plains, or, General Custer in Kansas and Texas (1889): A biography of Custer’s Life immediately following the Civil War, including his part in General Winfield Hancock’s (1824–1886) 1867 attack on the Cheyenne people between the Arkansas and Platt Rivers. 

Many soldiers published violent and racist accounts of their encounters with Indigenous people for a general audience. The Clark Library holds various such memoirs from the 19th and 20th centuries, and each should be read with a critical eye. 

Collection materials include:

Thrilling days in army life (1900): Written by General George A. Forsyth (1837–1915) about his experiences during the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865) and with the Apache tribe.

To find printed books and manuscripts go to UC Library Search. Click on “Advanced Search,” select the “Subject” field, and type either “Custer, George A (George Armstrong), 1839–1876” or “Indians of North America – Wars.” To find works written exclusively by Custer, you can select the “Author” field and type “Custer, George A (George Armstrong), 1839–1876).” You can also do a keyword search either in the simple search or in the “Any field” field of the “Advanced Search.” Once you have search results, you can limit to the Clark Library by selecting it from the “UCLA Locations” facet.