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Auction: 316 - The Collector's Series
Lot: 1155

Custer, George Armstrong. Envelope addressed to "Mrs. Genl GA Custer / Fort Leavenworth /Kas" in the General´s hand. Archivist´s note in pencil "Nov 23 / 68." The right end is torn open, and there is a tear in the lower right corner. In November 1868, U.S. Army cavalry and infantry troops from forts Bascom in New Mexico, Lyon in Colorado, and Dodge in Kansas, were ordered to converge on the Indian Territory and strike the Southern Cheyenne and the Southern Arapaho. The main force was the Seventh Cavalry led by Lt. Col. George A. Custer. While the other columns were delayed, Custer´s Seventh Cavalry set out alone on November 23, the day the letter once contained in this envelope was written. The ensuing Battle of Washita River on November 27, 1868 was regarded as the first substantial U.S. victory in the Southern Plains War. Custer reported killing 103 warriors, but the Cheyenne said that their casualties were substantially lower.

Sold for
$1,050