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ALS in pencil, signed “G. A. Custer,” one page, 7.75 x 9.75, April 12, 1876. Handwritten draft of a telegram to "Hon. A. H. Barnes," sent from "Fort Lincoln, D.T.," two months before Custer's death at the Little Bighorn. In part: "A large number of parties in and near Bismarck have been arrested and charged with committing…thefts of government property from the post. They and their friends are making strong efforts to secure the removal of U.S. Commissioner Jackman before whom all these cases have been taken. If he is removed I believe the public interests will suffer and that the guilty parties alone will gain by any change." Signed at the conclusion by Custer as commander of the post, and initialed twice, "G.A.C.," in the lower corners, authorizing a charge at "gov't rate" and requesting a copy of the message. In fine condition.
Written from Fort Abraham Lincoln in April 1876, this telegram draft reflects the disorder that followed the Black Hills gold rush, when theft, corruption, and defiance of federal authority were common across the Dakota Territory. As commander of the post, Custer found himself enforcing law and protecting government interests in a region where civil institutions were often overwhelmed. Composed only weeks before he departed with the 7th Cavalry on the campaign against the Lakota and Cheyenne, the document belongs to the closing chapter of Custer’s career. It captures him still engaged in the daily responsibilities of command, attempting to impose order on a volatile frontier, just before his march west and his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn fixed his place in American history.
The Western Americana auction of Jochen Zeitz.
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