Congratulatory Order from General Custer
ORIGINAL BROADSIDE PRINTING OF A CLASSIC CIVIL WAR DOCUMENT: Custer’s farewell message to his beloved troops of the Third Cavalry Division. Dated April 9, 1865, the date of Lee’s surrender at the Appomattox Court House. Printed by Gustavus A. Sykes in Petersburg, VA, where Custer returned with his troops the day after the surrender. EXTREMELY RARE.
Custer was present at Appomattox Court House for the momentous occasion of Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865, and on the same day he wrote a stirring “thank-you” letter to his troops. Custer’s Congratulatory Order "like Lee's farewell to the Army of Northern Virginia, has become a classic in the annals of American military literature, and it stands as a testimonial to the character of a man who never forgot his soldiers at the moment of his greatest glory and renown” (Urwin, Custer Victorious).
The Order reads in part:
”Soldiers of the Third Cavalry Division: 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 to you 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. Your prowess has won for you even the respect and admiration of your enemies… Within the past ten days, and included in the above, you have captured forty-six pieces of field artillery, and thirty-seven battle flags. You have never lost a gun – never lost a color – and have never been defeated… you have captured every piece of artillery the enemy has dared to open upon you. The near approach of peace renders it improbable that you will again be called upon to undergo the fatigues of the toilsome march, or the exposure of the battle field… For our comrades who have fallen, let us ever cherish a grateful remembrance. To the wounded and to those who languish in Southern prisons, let our heartfelt sympathies be tendered… I only ask that my name may be written as that of the commander of the Third Cavalry Division. G.A. Custer, Brevet Major General.”
Custer included the rank “Brevet Major General” after his name, but he was not breveted a major general until April 15. Presumably, then, this broadside was printed around that time.
On the printing: We know of another more elaborate printing of the broadside that appears not to have been printed by Sykes in Petersburg; it is possible that this more humbler one was printed to either sell or give to the Union troops (likely in and around Petersburg); the other more decorative printing was likely designed for a broader market. Both broadside printings of the Congratulatory Order are extremely rare. We can only locate one other (damaged) copy of the Sykes printing that has ever been on the market and a few examples of the more ornate one.
Letterpress handbill. One sheet: 6” x 9 ½”. Dated April 9, 1865. Appomattox C.H., Va. Printed by Gustavus A. Sykes, Petersburg, VA, c.April 15, 1865. A little foxing on the left edge, neat folds. Housed in custom folder. RARE.
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