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Auction: 314 - Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1089

[Custer, George Armstrong] Important printed Military Orders signed in type "G. A. Custer / Brevet Major General Commanding," 1 page, 8vo, Headquarters Third Cavalry Division, Appomattox Court House, VA, April 9, 1865. On the very day that Custer was present for the surrender of the armies of Robert E Lee, he addresses his men: "With profound gratitude toward the God of battles, by whose blessings our enemies have been humbled and our arms rendered triumphant, your Commanding General avails himself of this his first opportunity to express his admiration of the heroic manner in which you have passed through the series of battles which to-day resulted in the surrender of the enemy´s entire army. The record established by your indomitable courage is unparalleled in the annals of war...During the past six months...you have captured from the enemy, in open battle, on hundred and eleven pieces of field artillery, sixty-five battle-flags, and upwards of ten thousand prisoners...You have never lost a gun, never lost a color, and have never been defeated...When the war is ended and the task of the historian begins...I only ask that my name may be written as that of the Commander of the Third Cavalry Division." Light dampstain at left edge, toned, edge wear including bumped top corners, VG. The time to which Custer refers included the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in which his forces under Gen Philip Sheridan helped defeat Jubal Early´s army; the siege of Petersburg; and the final chase of Lee´s armies across Virginia to Appomattox Court House.

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