None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead

On April 2, 1933, at the age of 89, Elizabeth Bacon Custer suffered a heart attack and died. She had lived a long full of adventure and hardships, living in military housing while her famous husband, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, was off fighting the Native Americans who resisted the idea of being rounded up and taken to the reservations. She was incredibly happy when the two of them could be together, and fearsome when they were apart, until that day in June of 1876 when her worst fear became reality, her Autie had been killed at the battle of the Little Bighorn. She spent the remainder of her life, defending her late husband’s actions.

None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead; the Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss provides a look at the personal lives of George and Libbie Custer. It could be more aptly called the story of Autie and Libbie Custer, because it not only tells the story of Mrs. Custer, but it shows that there was more to Custer that the horrible disaster of the Little Big Horn. Its pages reveal a man who was a persistent and romantic suitor, a Civil War Veteran who fought with distinction at Bull Run and Gettysburg and earned him the rank of brevet General.

Mrs. Custer’s Last Will and Testament which appears as an Appendix gives an insight to the character of Elizabeth Custer. The book is fast read and I recommend highly to anyone who enjoys biographies.