Being Custer
Steve Alexander as George Armstrong Custer.
Written by Filed under History, Life
Steve Alexander as George Armstrong Custer. Photo courtesy of Steve Alexander.
Steve Alexander is George Armstrong Custer. At the very least, he’s the closest thing to George Custer since Custer himself walked the earth. It’s not just that Alexander looks like Custer, although the physical resemblance is uncanny. Alexander has spent virtually his entire life reading about, studying, and immersing himself in all things Custer—presenting himself as “Foremost Custer Living Historian.”
Not only does Alexander own replicas of every uniform that General Custer ever wore, he purchased and now lives in Custer’s onetime home in Monroe, Michigan. With the help of his wife Sandy—who he met at a Civil War re-enactment and who herself portrays George’s wife, Libby—Alexander has furnished the house with replicas of George and Libby’s furniture and decorated it with photographs, medals, weapons, hats and other Custer memorabilia.
Each June for the past 20 years Alexander has traveled to Montana to portray Custer in re-enactments of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and has appeared as “The General” in more than a dozen television docudramas. Failure recently called on Alexander to discuss what forces led him to devote his life to “being Custer.”
How long have you felt an affinity for General Custer?
I have searched my memory and it goes back to my early childhood—maybe as early as three years old. As a small boy whenever my friends and I played Cowboys and Indians I was always General Custer. I also spent a lot of time reading about Custer, the Civil War, and the history of the west. It made an impression that has been with me ever since.
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