Steve Alexander portraying General George Armstrong Custer
Monroe’s Steve Alexander and Monroe County Historical Museum Assistant Director David Ingall talk Custer across the pond on Sunday evening, November 8, 2009, as guests of Talking History, a weekly program airing on Newstalk, a Dublin-based radio station. History buffs stateside can listen live online at http://www.newstalk.ie from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST.
Hosted by author Patrick Geoghegan, a lecturer in the Department of History at Trinity College Dublin and one of Ireland’s leading young historians, Talking History takes a contemporary look at history and examines the lessons that can be learned from it. The award winning show challenges listeners to rethink their views and deepen their understanding of history. Talking History is described as being “laced with controversy”
Speaking of controversial, who fits this category better than the infamous Union Civil War hero George Armstrong Custer, America’s most revered or reviled military leader, who was killed along with his men at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in present day Montana by Sioux (Lakota) and Cheyenne Indians. 133 years later, this battle still sparks heated debate and is the topic of innumerable books and movies. The mere mention of Custer today can either evoke reverence or disdain.
Alexander, who portrays Custer in film and events, has been proclaimed the “foremost Custer living historian” by Congress. Ingall oversees the Custer Collection at the Monroe County Historical Museum and is an authority on Custer, the Civil War and the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Both gentlemen will speak on Custer’s military record, the famous battle at the Little Big Horn, and Custer’s ties to Monroe and Michigan.
They’ll also identify local tourist sites and events of interest significant to Custer’s life in Monroe including the upcoming http://hometownhistorytours.com Custer 170th Birthday Celebration to be held in Monroe on December 5, 2009.
