As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
There are things of no consequence in history and for me they puzzle most, as when Tom Custer referred to his sister in law, Libby, as "the old lady", in a most endearing way, when she was not in the least.
" What shall we do with the old lady ?" (this name was given me by these youngsters when I'first began to write myself Mrs.). "
Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Following the Guidon
George was known as "Curly" by most of the enlisted and government employees, but for the officers off duty, he was referred to as "the old man".
The source of this according to Libby Custer came from the following account, as the Americans were always full of some witty comment or enjoyed the laugh of a good story.
In this case, in the military, you do not approach the commanding officer, according to protocol, or it would be a case of every Soldier whining to the commander and questioning their superior in battle.
So the way it is handled is, a private talks to his sergeant, who then speaks to his officer, who then approaches the commander, if it is warranted.
People in the American West ran into great ridicule if they did something stupid or some event overtook them. For example one Soldier married a "woman" who did laundry, who was a man, and when that event was discovered, the soldiery so ridiculed the man, that the shot himself.
Abuse of the worst kind was normal, and if you screwed up in shooting at some wolf in the dark, thinking it was an Indian, you would hear about it for months.
In this, an old man was recruited into the military and ended up in the 7th Cavalry. He had some complaint about whatever, and instead of approaching his sargeant, he went to his officer and vociferously expressed the following:
"See here, cap'n, where's the old man? I want to have a talk with him."
Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Following the Guidon
From that moment on, General Custer was known as the "old man" when off duty. That complainer is lost to history, but by his brogue, one can assume this was some British immigrant, and was speaking in terms he communicated with, but in western humor, it became an immense joke, and that nickname stuck.
There really was not any training for Troopers. They had no training in riding nor shooting. They simply got a uniform and horse, and the rest was learned on the go in combat. Numbers were immigrants, relating to Irishmen, and in closing this with a final story, another officer who was Catholic happened to note one day as a boozer, "Well I get ex communicated so often, that I expect to find a notice for me every morning."
It was really quite a lovely feudal situation of comradery in each officer had their own orderly and the orderlies took care of their officers, as the nicknames and comedy were the daily routine.
As the "old lady" related at her summer camp, "If you needed anything like boards, fences or kitchen things, you could be sure that it would come down river from some deluge to fill your requirements."
That would be considered what a "wag" would say to bring humor to life.
....and as this started with the old lady, it should end in typical Libby fashion, concerning a rather agile racehorse.
"It seems that when we first had the mare, she reared and plunged with such violence, gave such agile leaps from one side to the other, that I, with tears of terror streaming down my face, had called to General Custer, " Don't, don't mount the dangerous creature, let the bachelor officers try her first." The men without wives heard me, and as they valued their lives in spite of the fact that they were single, I never heard the last of it."
Elizabeth Bacon Custer. Following the Guidon
That is the charm of Libby Custer in she never ceased to be reminded by all of the things she found herself saying.
agtG
