My Life on the Plains, by George A. Custer (1874)

This is a reprint of General Custer's book detailing his personal experiences with Indians, mainly covering the period 1868 - 69, the early post Civil War years. My Life on the Plains was published in 1872 – 74 as a serial and in 1874 in book form, just two years before he would meet his fate at the Little Big Horn

The 256-page text covers much of the history of the American West immediately following the Civil War that is available in few, if any, other places. From the introduction I learned that Custer's book is now considered by historians one of the seminal volumes on the history of the American West.

From the first page Custer reveals a fine intellect and ability to convey complex thoughts through the written word. As might be expected, the prose is full flower 19th century style with plenty of convoluted phrasings but Custer's writing is quite a bit more palatable than other Victorian era books with enough humor to keep you interested. Custer was a literate man and a man of his time, so don’t expect twenty-first century sensitivity, but he did have some sympathy for the Indians and made personal friends with several through his square dealing.

He first defines the plains, whose area I suspect is different from what most people today would expect. This was an area formerly known as the Great American Desert, which was everything west of the Mississippi and south of the Missouri before the Rockies, and later narrowed down to an area covering roughly what we know as the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, northern Texas, and parts of Colorado and New Mexico. This latter part was Custer's plains. This land was no man's land and settlers took their lives in their hands entering in and staying there. It's hard to believe that only about 120 years ago the country was that wild.

Custer’s first person account covers the intense rigors of life for these pioneers and the Indian tribes that he was tasked to hunt as leader of the 7th US Cavalry, who also shared the privations. According to Custer’s account, the Indians had no great qualms about killing settlers they found in the vast area over which they roamed through various parts of the year. Particular offenders were Pawnees, Comanches, Kiowas, but Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Apaches also were associated at various times with the murders. Campaigns took place in winter, with snow up to the horses’ bellies, because that meant the grazing for the Indian ponies was unavailable, neutralizing the Indians’ advantage of mobility. Cavalry troops carried fodder for their horses as part of their supply train.

Custer covers the campaign under General Winfield Scott Hancock, first making quite a persuasive case that the last person to want war is the soldier or the frontiersman (settlers). Judging from the eloquent defense set forth I suspect there was a large amount of anti-army press in favor of the Indians, probably instigated by the Indian Ring, whom Custer identified with profiteers and scoundrels and had difficulties with for the remainder of his life.

Custer also covered the campaign that culminated in the "Battle of Washita," which prefigured his own death struggle that would happen about five years in the future. In this case he attacked one end of a huge five-nation village but it was winter and there were intervening trees that prevented the Indians from massing and delivering a knock-out blow to the cavalry. This is thought to be what Custer did in 1876, unknowingly attacking one end of a massive village but it was summer and there were no obstacles to impede the Indians from concentrating and overwhelming the troopers.

My Life on the Plains is a very interesting book for history-minded individuals who want to read first person accounts of the early west.


Recommended: Yes