June 26, 2017
You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical
Society.
One of Geary
County’s most famous military connections happened when the county was still
known as Davis County, in the mid 1800s.
General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry live on
in history for their untimely end at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, but
before that, Custer arrived at Fort Riley as Colonel to the newly formed 7th
Cavalry. He brought with him his wife,
Libby Custer, who recorded her husband’s life in her books Tenting on the
Plains and Following the Guidon. In these books, she recalls not only her
husband’s movements, but also her own time in Geary County and her interactions
with other famous historic figures. One of those was Wild Bill Hickock, who had
acted as a scout for Custer. We have a
picture of Will Bill, which was taken in Junction City by A.P. Trott. There are
other items in a display, which contains
one of Libby Custer’s books and a picture of Wild Bill that would be of
interest are located in our Main Street Gallery on the first floor of our
Museum.
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