An Unsung Civil War Heroine: Eliza Brown; General George A. Custer's Cook

Thousands of books and articles have been written about the battles----both great and small----and the major personalities of the American Civil War. The vast majority of these books and articles have concentrated on the battles and personalities of the famous "household names"----the generals and political figures that first caused, and then directed, the tragic conflict to its bloody conclusion. The literature of the Civil War abounds with biographies of the heroes of the South such as Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, James Longstreet and Jefferson Davis as well as those of the North like Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, George Custer, and Phil Sheridan, to name but a few. There are also myriad descriptions of the battles, both great, like Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg to mention three of the most important; and small that dotted the Union and the Confederate territory during the four long years that the war seesawed back and forth across the landscape. Little, however, has been published about the thousands of everyday men and women who contributed----sometimes losing their lives in the process----to the Union and Confederate argument over which political entity was supreme; the individual governments of the States or the central government of the Federal Republic. General George Custer was certainly one of these "household" names that have been so often written about. But little has been written about his cook, Eliza Brown, who in her own way, was as courageous under fire as he was. Her story illustrates the courageous women on both sides of the conflict, who were able, despite the roadblocks erected in their way----as women have been able throughout history----to find their way around male-devised obstructionist rules and make their meaningful contribution to the war effort. "An Unsung Civil War Heroine: Eliza Brown; General George A. Custer's Cook" is an account of of this unsung heroine. Eliza Brown, illustrates the never-say-die tenacity of many women of that era. Their courage and tenacity was demonstrated both behind the scenes and on countless battlefields during the course of the war. Eliza, and many other women like her, personify the courage and resourcefulness of the faceless, unsung thousands of both men and women whose names and deeds are now lost to history. Using various sources, including George Custer and Libbie Custer's books, we get a view of this amazing woman and her deeds of valor. From the eyewitness accounts of George and Libbie, as well as the period records, emerges a portrait of greatness as heroic as any the Civil War produced. In this short, illustrated e-book of about 28,500 words, Eliza Brown's deeds and life reveal the female African-American sprit of the time. For background purposes, I have included short biographical sketches of the lives of General George A. Custer and Libbie Bacon Custer. There are approximately 27,050+ words and approximately 90+ pages at 300 words per page in this e-book.