Custer, George Armstrong (1839-1876) to Colonel Colburn
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00932 Author/Creator: Custer, George Armstrong (1839-1876) Place Written: Sharpsburg, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: [18 September] 1862 Pagination: 2 p. ; 13.2 x 9.2 cm. Order a Copy
Pencilled letter written during the Battle of Antietam on stationary marked "Head Quarters, Army of the Potomac." 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.
Henry Jackson Hunt was a Brigadier General in the Union Army.
[excerpt]
We have just captured one three inch gun and its Caisson on the road from the Hagerst[ow]n Pike to Sharps town. Col. [Henry Jackson] Hunt had better send out for it. We cannot take it with us…
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