Custer, George Armstrong, 1839-1876 to Colonel Colburn

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GLC#
GLC00932
Type
Letters
Date
September 18, 1862
Author/Creator
Custer, George Armstrong, 1839-1876
Title
to Colonel Colburn
Place Written
Sharpsburg, Maryland
Pagination
2 p. : Height: 13.2 cm, Width: 9.2 cm
Language
English
Primary time period
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
Sub-Era
The American Civil War

Penciled letter written during the Battle of Antietam on stationary marked "Head Quarters, Army of the Potomac." He states "We have just captured one three inch gun and its Caisson on the road from the Hagerstown Pike to Sharpstown. Col. Hunt had better send out for it. We cannot take it with us." Note written just after Custer, without orders, led a company of men against a weak point in the Confederate line, routed them, and took a number of their cannons. While this action would prove irrelevant to the larger battle, it helped to establish Custer's reputation for bold action, a trait he would become quite well known for. Colonel Hunt was Henry Jackson Hunt.

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