A scarce letter by General Custer while at Fort Lincoln in 1875

Lot 305

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Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

By Doyle

Nov 25, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-11-25 10:00:00 2025-11-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Rare Books, Autographs & Maps https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/doyle/rare-books-autographs-maps-21321 Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 10am Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection Doyle info@doyle.com

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Lot Description

CUSTER, GEORGE ARMSTRONG, General Two-page letter signed by General Custer. Fort Lincoln, North Dakota: 15 April 1875. A secretarially prepared letter signed in ink "GA Custer" as First Lieut. Colonel of Cavalry/Brevet Major General US Army. 1 1/2 pages on the rectos of a bifolium of lined paper. The letter is written to Edmond Palmer, the U.S. Indian Agent at Standing Rock, DT (i.e. Dakota Territory). Docketting on verso. 9 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches (25 x 20 cm). Usual folds, two punched holes in the extreme left margin (likely as the paper was issued), two further holes at the head for paper fasteners, some thumb-soiling and very minor dampstaining to the gutter, small repairs to the fold extremities (well clear of the text) on the verso of the second leaf. Edmond Palmer, the recipient of this letter, had been a 1st Sergeant in General Grant's company during the Civil War, and he had surveyed the land on which the Standing Rock Agency was built, and was the Indian Agent there for some years after. Custer informs Palmer that a council with the various tribal chiefs and headmen under his jurisdiction, originally planned for the 20th of April, has now been postponed until the 20th of May. The purpose of this council is "to participate in the treaty of peace which it is to be hoped will then be made between the Indians of the Fort Berthold, Standing Rock and Cheyenne Agencies." A year later, Custer and his troops were to leave from their Fort Lincoln headquarters, as part of the Great Sioux War of 1876, and Custer (with almost half of his men) would be killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Fort Lincoln itself was abandoned in 1891, but Custer himself passed into American legend.

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