Post by George Armstrong Custer on Nov 18, 2015 10:59:35 GMT -6
'CUSTER'S TRIALS' by T J Stiles
Published by Knopf, 2015
582pp, maps; illus.
Stiles' book is the analytical biography of Custer, skilfully setting him in the context of a fast-changing era, that has been wanting in the historiography for far too long. I predict it will stand unchallenged in that role for a generation. Hundreds of books have been devoted to Custer since his death. But some trees, like this one, dominate the forest.
The interview linked to at the end of this post illustrates why I like Stiles' approach to history, which is that, even when dealing with an individual who has become a controversial character, you look at the evidence from the point of view of trying to understand what happened from the perspective of those who were acting it out. That is, you do not 'do' history by putting the past on posthumous trial from the perspective of early 21st century sensibilities.
Stiles makes the point that Custer was not an inherently or uniquely bad man when looked at in the context of most of his white contemporaries in the second half of 19th century America. This book is the most plausible intimate biography of Custer the man to date, and where its subject has redeeming qualities, these are acknowledged as a matter of fact. One of the book’s major strengths is that it dispassionately sets out the facts both pro and con as observational reporting, allowing the reader to assess them in constructing their own conclusions on Custer the man. Stiles rightly dismisses Vine Deloria's comparisons with Eichmann, whilst acknowledging the attention which Deloria justifiably sought to draw to the overall treatment of Native Americans by deploying such an exaggerated example of Godwin's Law. At the same time, Stiles makes no apologies for Custer's part in carrying out Sheridan's orders regarding the taking of no Cheyenne warrior prisoners at the Washita, despite taking as much care for the non-combatants as he could (also noting that despite this, Custer would have known in advance that the latter would inevitably take casualties in a dawn attack on a sleeping village).
Stiles makes a telling point when he contextualises contemporary US government policies of what was acceptable to many in terms of the actions of the US military on the Western Frontier, with how such behaviour would have been regarded *at the time* in other military theatres of war:
"In any other setting, the Army would have considered both the order and its execution to be an atrocity, but the Washita was sadly typical in this setting."
I think, too, Stiles in on the money when he postulates as to what Custer's life may have been like had he been victorious at Little Big Horn:
"Even if he succeeded at public speaking, I suspect that Custer would have self-destructed, as he so often did, possibly by gambling with stocks or in a harebrained investment."
I know it's dangerous to stray into the territory of posthumous diagnosis on the basis of anecdotal evidence, but I've often thought myself that many accounts of Custer's behavioural traits, both domestically and professionally, suggest the possibility of someone who might now be diagnosed as a high-functioning sufferer of what is now described as ADHD and/or Asperger's.
In conversation, then, and in his book, Stiles comes across as a thoughtful and intelligent historian. Moreover he can write. These are qualities which guarantee the place of ‘Custer’s Trials’ as a cornerstone of the historiography of Custer and the American Western Frontier. I predict this will stand as the definitive intimate biography of Custer the man for a generation. Stiles devotes little space to the events at Little Big Horn, which have been rehashed and speculated over ad nauseum since 1876. In the popular imagination, Custer is defined by his death, with little nuance or understanding of the life which preceded it. Stiles' purpose instead is to explore Custer's life in the context of a fast changing era of American history.
www.truewestmagazine.com/the-human-custer/
ciao,
GAC
Published by Knopf, 2015
582pp, maps; illus.
Stiles' book is the analytical biography of Custer, skilfully setting him in the context of a fast-changing era, that has been wanting in the historiography for far too long. I predict it will stand unchallenged in that role for a generation. Hundreds of books have been devoted to Custer since his death. But some trees, like this one, dominate the forest.
The interview linked to at the end of this post illustrates why I like Stiles' approach to history, which is that, even when dealing with an individual who has become a controversial character, you look at the evidence from the point of view of trying to understand what happened from the perspective of those who were acting it out. That is, you do not 'do' history by putting the past on posthumous trial from the perspective of early 21st century sensibilities.
Stiles makes the point that Custer was not an inherently or uniquely bad man when looked at in the context of most of his white contemporaries in the second half of 19th century America. This book is the most plausible intimate biography of Custer the man to date, and where its subject has redeeming qualities, these are acknowledged as a matter of fact. One of the book’s major strengths is that it dispassionately sets out the facts both pro and con as observational reporting, allowing the reader to assess them in constructing their own conclusions on Custer the man. Stiles rightly dismisses Vine Deloria's comparisons with Eichmann, whilst acknowledging the attention which Deloria justifiably sought to draw to the overall treatment of Native Americans by deploying such an exaggerated example of Godwin's Law. At the same time, Stiles makes no apologies for Custer's part in carrying out Sheridan's orders regarding the taking of no Cheyenne warrior prisoners at the Washita, despite taking as much care for the non-combatants as he could (also noting that despite this, Custer would have known in advance that the latter would inevitably take casualties in a dawn attack on a sleeping village).
Stiles makes a telling point when he contextualises contemporary US government policies of what was acceptable to many in terms of the actions of the US military on the Western Frontier, with how such behaviour would have been regarded *at the time* in other military theatres of war:
"In any other setting, the Army would have considered both the order and its execution to be an atrocity, but the Washita was sadly typical in this setting."
I think, too, Stiles in on the money when he postulates as to what Custer's life may have been like had he been victorious at Little Big Horn:
"Even if he succeeded at public speaking, I suspect that Custer would have self-destructed, as he so often did, possibly by gambling with stocks or in a harebrained investment."
I know it's dangerous to stray into the territory of posthumous diagnosis on the basis of anecdotal evidence, but I've often thought myself that many accounts of Custer's behavioural traits, both domestically and professionally, suggest the possibility of someone who might now be diagnosed as a high-functioning sufferer of what is now described as ADHD and/or Asperger's.
In conversation, then, and in his book, Stiles comes across as a thoughtful and intelligent historian. Moreover he can write. These are qualities which guarantee the place of ‘Custer’s Trials’ as a cornerstone of the historiography of Custer and the American Western Frontier. I predict this will stand as the definitive intimate biography of Custer the man for a generation. Stiles devotes little space to the events at Little Big Horn, which have been rehashed and speculated over ad nauseum since 1876. In the popular imagination, Custer is defined by his death, with little nuance or understanding of the life which preceded it. Stiles' purpose instead is to explore Custer's life in the context of a fast changing era of American history.
www.truewestmagazine.com/the-human-custer/
ciao,
GAC