Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: July 1, 1861

My family are gone. We have moved the department to Mechanics' Hall, which will be known hereafter as the War Department. In an evil hour, I selected a room to write my letters in, quite remote from the Secretary's office. I thought Mr. Walker resented this He had likewise been piqued at the effect produced by an article I had written on the subject of the difficulty of getting arms from Georgia with the volunteers from that State. One of the spunky Governor's organs had replied with acerbity, not only defending the Governor, but striking at the Secretary himself, to whom the authorship was ascribed. My article had been read and approved by the Secretary before its insertion; nevertheless he now regretted it had been written — not that there was anything improper in it, but that it should have been couched in words that suggested the idea to the Southern editor that the Secretary might be its author. I resolved to meddle with edged tools no more; for I remembered that Gil Bias had done the same thing for the Duke of Lerma. Hereafter I shall study Gil Bias for the express purpose of being his antithesis. But I shall never rise until the day of doom brings us all to our feet again.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 57

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, March 1, 1864

Headquarters Army Of Potomac

March 1, 1864

. . . For some days General Humphreys has been a mass of mystery, with his mouth pursed up, and doing much writing by himself, all to the great amusement of the bystanders, who had heard, even in Washington, that some expedition or raid was on the tapis, and even pointed out various details thereof. However, their ideas, after all, were vague; but they should not have known anything. Que voulez-vous? A secret expedition with us is got up like a picnic, with everybody blabbing and yelping. One is driven to think that not even the prospect of immediate execution will stop Americans from streaming on in their loose, talking, devil-may-care ways. Kilpatrick is sent for by the President; oh, ah! everybody knows it at once: he is a cavalry officer; it must be a raid. All Willard's chatters of it. Everybody devotes his entire energies to pumping the President and Kill-cavalry! Some confidential friend finds out a part, tells another confidential friend, swearing him to secrecy, etc., etc. So there was Eleusinian Humphreys writing mysteriously, and speaking to nobody, while the whole camp was sending expeditions to the four corners of the compass! On Saturday, at early morn, Uncle John Sedgwick suddenly picked up his little traps and marched with his Corps through Culpeper and out towards Madison Court House, away on our right flank. The next, the quiet Sabbath, was broken by the whole of Birney's division, of the 3d Corps, marching also through Culpeper, with the bands playing and much parade. We could only phancy the feeling of J. Reb contemplating this threatening of his left flank from his signal station on Clark's Mountain. Then the flaxen Custer, at the head of cavalry, passed through, and wended his way in the same direction. All this, you see, was on our right. That night Kilpatrick, at the head of a large body of cavalry, crossed at Ely's Ford, on our extreme left, and drew a straight bead on Richmond! At two o’clock that night he was at Spotsylvania C. H., and this is our last news of him. He sent back word that he would attack Richmond at seven this morning. The idea is to liberate the prisoners, catch all the rebel M. C.'s that are lying round loose, and make tracks to our nearest lines. I conceive the chances are pretty hazardous, although the plan was matured with much detail and the start was all that could be asked. . . .

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 76-8

Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Lyman to Elizabeth Russell Lyman, September 17, 1863

Headquarters Army Of Potomac

Between The Rappahannock And Rapidan

September 17, 1863

Having again got “home,” I find leisure and paper to write you a rather longer letter than you have got of late. Perhaps you would like to hear about our little cavalry performance. Of course there was not hard fighting, and a hundred or so will cover all the killed and wounded; nevertheless, as the whole was new to me and as the operations covered a good deal of country, they were interesting and instructive both. The whole Cavalry Corps (a good many thousand men) had been massed the day before, and had orders to cross the Rappahannock early next morning. I was to ride down in time to join General Pleasonton. The distance to the river is some eight miles, so I was up at 4.30 — rain pitchforks! dark as a box — thunder and lightning — everything but “enter three witches.” However, in my india-rubber coat and much-insulted large boots, much of the water could be kept out, and, by the time we were saddled and had had some tea, behold it stopped raining and away I went, quite thankful, and with a tail of six orderlies and a corporal. The ground was very wet, and we went slipping and sliding, in the red mud, till we drew near the river, when, behold, the whole country alive with train-waggons, columns of infantry, batteries, and ambulances; the latter with the stretchers fastened outside disagreeably suggestive of casualties. The rear of the cavalry had just crossed, when I got there; and General Pleasonton was on the opposite bank, where I presently joined him, crossing by the railroad bridge. He had with him a good many aides, besides orderlies and escort. Just at this point we held the southern, as well as the northern, bank and the pickets were some two miles out. The country is rolling, but not quite hilly; there are very large open fields (now filled mostly with weeds) and again, considerable woods. In these last our cavalry were hidden, so that you would have said there were not 300 of them all together. This I found, presently, was a great point, to conceal men, behind woods and ridges, as much as possible.

We all now rode to our extreme picket line and took a view; and there, sure enough, was Mr. Reb with his picket line, about one third of a mile off. We could see a chain of mounted videttes, and, behind these, on a little knoll, a picket reserve, with their horses tied to trees. We waited some time to give a chance to General Gregg who had crossed on our right, and General Kilpatrick on our left, to get into the proper positions. Then General Pleasonton ordered an advance, and, in a few moments, quite as if by magic, the open country was alive with horsemen; first came columns of skirmishers who immediately deployed and went forward, at a brisk trot, or canter, making a connected line, as far as the eye could reach, right and left. Then followed the supports, in close order, and with and behind them came the field batteries, all trooping along as fast as they could scramble. It was now between eight and nine and the sun was bright, so that the whole spectacle was, to a greenhorn like me, one of the most picturesque possible. Not the least remarkable feature was the coolness of Mr. Reb under these trying circumstances. Their videttes stared a few moments, apparently without much curiosity, then turned tail and moved off, first at a walk, then at a trot, and finally disappeared over the ridge at a gallop. We rode on about a mile, keeping a little behind the skirmishers; General Buford and his Staff being just ahead and to the left. To the left we could hear cannon, General Kilpatrick having got into a skirmish there. Presently I saw a puff of smoke, on a ridge in front of us, and then hm-m-why-z-z-z, bang! went the shell, right by General Buford's Staff, taking the leg off a poor orderly. Much pleased with their good shot, they proceeded to give our Staff a taste; and missiles of various kinds (but all disagreeable) began to skip and buzz round us. It was to me extraordinary to see the precision with which they fired. All the shot flew near us, and, while I had gone forward to the crest of the ridge to get a better view, a shell exploded directly in the midst of the Staff, wounding an orderly and very neatly shaving a patch of hair off the horse of Captain Hutchins. However, two could play at that game, and Captain Graham soon made the obnoxious guns limber up and depart to the next ridge, where they would again open and stay as long as they could. By the time we had got a few miles further, the enemy had brought forward all his cavalry and began firing with rifles, to which our men replied with their carbines.

We now entered a wooded tract, interspersed with mudholes and springy ground, and here the enemy made quite a hard stand, for the town of Culpeper lay a couple of miles beyond and they wished to gain time to get off their stores by the railroad. The advanced regiments were therefore dismounted and sent into the woods, while the artillery tried to find some place whence the guns could be used. It was at this place that I first heard the yells, for which the Rebels are noted. They were the other side of a high bank, covered with bushes, and they yelled to keep their spirits up as long as possible. But they were soon driven through the woods and then we came on an open country, in full view of Culpeper. This was a very interesting sight. The hills are, hereabout, quite large, and on the one opposite us stood Culpeper, very prettily situated, the railroad running through the lower part of the town. Just in the outskirts the Rebels had planted two batteries, as a last check, and behind were drawn up their supports of cavalry. Our cavalry were coming out of the woods, on all sides, moving on the town in form of a semi-circle, while the guns were pelting those of the enemy with might and main. Suddenly we were aware of a railroad train slowly leaving the depot, and immediately several guns were turned on it; but it went off, despite the shells that burst over it. Then there suddenly appeared a body of our cavalry, quite on the left of the town, who made a rush, at full speed, on three cannon there stationed, and took the whole of them with their caissons. This was a really handsome charge and was led by General Custer, who had his horse shot under him. This officer is one of the funniest looking beings you ever saw, and looks like a circus rider gone mad! He wears a huzzar jacket and tight trousers, of faded black velvet trimmed with tarnished gold lace. His head is decked with a little, gray felt hat; high boots and gilt spurs complete the costume, which is enhanced by the General's coiffure, consisting in short, dry, flaxen ringlets! His aspect, though highly amusing, is also pleasing, as he has a very merry blue eye, and a devil-may-care style. His first greeting to General Pleasonton, as he rode up, was: “How are you, fifteen-days'-leave-of-absence? They have spoiled my boots but they didn't gain much there, for I stole ’em from a Reb.” And certainly, there was one boot torn by a piece of shell and the leg hurt also, so the warlike ringlets got not only fifteen, but twelve [additional] days' leave of absence, and have retreated to their native Michigan!

The Rebels now retreated in all haste, and we rode at once in, and found a good many supplies at the depot with a number of rifles and saddles. As we rode up, the building was beset with grinning dragoons, each munching, with great content, a large apple, whereof they found several barrels which had been intended for the comfort of Mr. Stuart's dashing knights. I was surprised at the good conduct of the gypsy-looking men. They insulted no one, broke nothing, and only took a few green peaches, which, I fancy, amply revenged themselves. Culpeper is a really decent place, with a brick hotel, and a number of good houses, in front of which were little gardens. I send you a rosebud, which I picked as we rode through the town; there were plenty of them, looking rather out of place there, in the midst of muddy batteries and splattered cavalrymen! A queer thing happened in the taking of the three guns. An officer was made prisoner with them, and, as he was marched to the rear, Lieutenant Counselman of our side cried out, “Hullo, Uncle Harry!” “Hullo!” replied the captain uncle. “Is that you? How are you?” And there these two had been unwittingly shelling each other all the morning!

After resting the horses we pushed on to the south, towards what is called Pong Mountain, for you must know that this region is more hilly, and Pong Mountain is about comparable to the Blue Hills (not quite so high, perhaps).  . . . We drove the enemy five miles beyond Culpeper, making fifteen miles, in all, and there a halt was ordered and pickets thrown out. Our Headquarters were a wretched house, of two rooms, inhabited by two old women. We gave them one room and took the other ourselves. And now I loomed out! The Staff had, in the way of creature comforts, nothing but sabres and revolvers. It was dark and raining guns, and the Chief-of-Staff had the stomachache! I took from my saddle-bags a candle and lighted the same, prepared tea from my canteen, and produced a loaf of bread and a Bologna sausage, to the astonishment of the old campaigners, who enquired, “Whether I had a pontoon bridge about me?” Then I rolled myself in my coat and took a good night's sleep on the floor.

The next morning we started for Raccoon Ford, on the Rapidan, five miles distant. The enemy were mostly across and only opposed us with a few skirmishers. As we got in sight of it, the prospect was not cheering. The opposite bank, partly wooded and partly covered with cultivation, rose in steep, high hills, which completely commanded our side of the river. It was a fine sight to see the column splashing along the wood road, lying between fine oak trees; but the fine sight was presently interrupted by a shell, which exploded about 100 yards ahead of me and right among the horses' legs, without touching me! The General rode into the open field to reconnoitre the position, and I with him, because he wanted my glass; but Mr. Secesh has a sharp eye for gold cords round hats, and, in a minute, wh-n-n-g, flwp! wh-z-z-z! a solid shot struck just in front of us, and bounced over our heads. The General ordered us to disperse about the field, so as not to make a mark; but, as I rode off, they sent a shell so near me that a facetious officer called out: “I guess they think you're somebody pretty distinguished, Kun'l.” However, there may be a good deal of cannon shooting, without many hits; in proof of which I will say that we had a brisk fire of artillery from 10.30 to 2.30, together with a sharp spattering of rifles and carbines, and that our loss was five killed and fifteen wounded! Shells do not sound so badly as I expected; nor did I feel as I expected on the occasion. There is a certain sense of discipline and necessity that bears you up; and the only shell I “ducked” was the first one.

After some difficulty we got some guns in position and drove off those opposed. Then General Kilpatrick's division went to a better ford below, and tried to get over there; but the Rebels opened on him with fourteen cannon and silenced his guns after a hard fire. So we concluded the fords were not practicable for cavalry, which I think might have been apparent from the outset. Whereupon both parties stopped and stared at each other; and we heroes of the Staff went to a house (much better than that of last night) and partook of mutton which, during the day, we had valiantly made the prey of our bow and our spear. On our right General Gregg had driven the enemy beyond Cedar Mountain and nearly to the river, but was there brought up by a heavy force of artillery in position. All day Tuesday we lay doing nothing. I rode over with the General to Cedar Mountain, passing close to the battlefield, and ascended, thus getting a fine view of the Rapidan valley, which is very beautiful and would, in the hands of good farmers, yield a thousandfold.  . . . We have taken on our reconnaissance in force about 150 prisoners, three guns, and five caissons. Yesterday the entire army crossed the Rappahannock, and I got orders to return to Headquarters, which I did.

SOURCE: George R. Agassiz, Editor, Meade’s Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman from the Wilderness to Appomattox, p. 14-20

Major-General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Mead, March 2, 1864

Headquarters Army Of The Potomac, March 2, 1864.

We have all been in a state of excitement about our recent cavalry raids. On the 28th, I moved the Sixth Corps and part of the Third to Madison Court House, threatening the enemy's left flank. At the same time Custer, with fifteen hundred cavalry and two pieces of artillery, was sent to Charlottesville to try and cut the Gordonsville and Lynchburg Railroad near that place, where there is an important bridge over the Ravenna River. Custer got within two miles of the bridge, but found it too strongly guarded. He, however, skirmished with the enemy, destroyed and captured a great deal of property, took fifty prisoners, and on his return cut his way through a large cavalry force, commanded by Jeb. Stuart, that had been sent to cut him off, thus being quite successful. In the meantime, while the enemy's attention was fully occupied with Custer, and they were under the impression I was moving in that direction, Kilpatrick, with four thousand cavalry and six guns, at night crossed the Rapidan on our left and pushed straight for Richmond. He fortunately captured the picket on the Rapidan, thus preventing early intelligence of his movement being communicated. He left Sunday night, and the last we have heard of him was Monday afternoon, when he was within thirty miles of Richmond. Of course you can imagine our anxiety to know his fate. If he finds Richmond no better guarded than our information says it is, he will have a great chance of getting in and liberating all the prisoners, which is the great object of the movement. God grant he may, for their sakes and his.

I suppose you have seen by the papers that I have been confirmed as a brigadier general in the regular army.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 2, p. 168-9

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones, December 25, 1864

Christmas ! — Clear and pleasant — white frost.

All quiet below. But it is believed on the street that Savannah has been evacuated, some days ago. I have not yet seen any official admission of the fact.

We have quite a merry Christmas in the family; and a compact that no unpleasant word shall be uttered, and no scramble for anything. The family were baking cakes and pies until late last night, and to-day we shall have full rations. I have found enough celery in the little garden for dinner.

Last night and this morning the boys have been firing Christmas guns incessantly — no doubt pilfering from their fathers' cartridge-boxes. There is much jollity and some drunkenness in the streets, notwithstanding the enemy's pickets are within an hour's march of the city.

A large number of the croaking inhabitants censure the President for our many misfortunes, and openly declare in favor of Lee as Dictator. Another month, and he may be unfortunate or unpopular. His son, Gen. Custis Lee, has mortally offended the clerks by putting them in the trenches yesterday, and some of them may desert.

Many members of Congress have gone home. But it is still said they invested the President with extraordinary powers, in secret session. I am not quite sure this is so.

I append the following dispatches:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

December 23d, 1864.

HON. JAMES A. SEDDON, SECRETARY OF WAR.

On the 20th, Gen. Early reported one division of the enemy's cavalry, under Gen. Custer, coming up the valley, and two divisions, under Gen. Torbert, moving through Chester Gap, with four pieces of artillery and thirty wagons.

On the 22d, Rosser attacked Custer's division, nine miles from Harrisonburg, and drove it back, capturing forty prisoners.

This morning, Torbert attacked Lomax near Gordonsville, and was repulsed and severely punished. He is retreating, and Lomax preparing to follow.

R. E. LEE.

DUBLIN, December 20th, 1864.

A dispatch from Gen. Breckinridge to-day, dated at Mount Airy, sixteen miles west of Wytheville, says he had fought the enemy for two days, successfully, near Marion. The enemy had retired from his front; but whether they were retreating to East Tennessee or not, he had not ascertained.

CHARLESTON, December 22d, 1864.

TO GEN. S. COOPER.

On the 16th inst, the enemy, 800 strong, occupied Pollard. After burning the government and railroad buildings, they retired in the direction they came.

They were pursued thirty miles, losing a portion of their transportation, baggage, and supplies, and leaving many dead negro troops on the road.

Our force, commanded by Gen. Liddell, acted with spirit and gallantry.

G. T. BEAUREGARD, General.

OUR INDIAN TROOPS.—Gen. Stand Watie, commanding our Indian troops in the trans-Mississippi Department, has fully clothed and armed all his men, and is in the vicinity of Fort Smith, attacking and destroying Yankee wagon trains.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2, p. 364-6

Review: Custer's Last Stand

American Experience: Custer’s Last Stand

Premiers Tuesday, January 17, 2012

8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS

The massacre of George Armstrong Custer and the 261 men of the 7^th U.S. Cavalry under his command on June 25^th & 26^th, 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn looms large in the American psyche.  The image of Custer himself depends largely from which vantage point you study him.  The man of American myth and memory can be seen as a martyr, a hero or a villain; a loving husband and a strict disciplinarian; a general and a fool; an egomaniac and a romantic.

The critically acclaimed PBS documentary series “American Experience” explores the life of George Armstrong Custer in a 2 hour episode entitled “Custer’s Last Stand.”  Beginning with Custer’s battle with the Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stewart on July 3^rd 1863 at Gettysburg, writer and director Steven Ives, presents Custer’s life in linear chronological order with occasional flashes back to his less than illustrious career as a cadet at the American Military Academy at West Point, and his courtship of and marriage to Elizabeth Bacon.

After the war the army shrank and Custer went from being a Major General of volunteers to a captain in the regular army.  In short order he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 7^th U.S. Cavalry and took up residence at Ft. Riley, Kansas.  He took part in Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s expedition against the Cheyenne in 1867, from which campaign he returned to Fort Riley without leave to Libby’s loving embrace, an act for which he was court martialed, found guilty and was suspended for one year without pay.

Custer’s suspension was short lived, and he soon found himself called back to duty.  Under the orders of Major General Philip Sheridan, Custer led the 7^th Cavalry in an attack against the winter encampment of the Cheyenne chief Black Kettle on the Washita River.  Though Custer claimed it a victory, it was a massacre, of the killed and captured, only a few were Cheyenne warriors, most were old men, women and children.

The documentary highlights Custer’s decision not to look for a detachment of the 7^th Cavalry led by Major Joel Elliot after the battle on the Washita.  The bodies of Elliot and his men were found a few weeks later.  For Custer it was a decision that would sow the poison seed of distrust that would take root and grow among some of the men of the 7^th Cavalry, and would result in the bitter harvest of 261 of his men at Little Bighorn.

In 1874 he led an expedition into the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory, where gold was found, it would prove to be a discovery that would lead to a flood of white settlers into a place considered holy by the Lakota Sioux, and the virtual ending of the Laramie Treaty which guaranteed the use of the Dakota Territory to the Native Americans forever.

His next assignment would be at Fort Abraham Lincoln, where George & Libby Custer were at the center of the social circle.  It was a circle that included a large number of Custer’s own family: his brothers Tom and Boston, his sister Margaret and her husband James Calhoun who was also a member of the 7^th Cavalry, and his nephew Autie Reed.  Among those that were not included in the Custer family’s social circle, were Major Marcus Reno & Captain Frederick Benteen, who harbored resentment and criticism of Custer’s decision not to search for Major Elliott and his men, and who would be major players in the drama that would unfold on the banks of the Little Bighorn River.

The last 30 minutes of the documentary covers the battle of Little Bighorn, or what until very recently has been known as “Custer’s Last Stand.”  It gives an overview of Custer’s plan of attack, and the splitting of the 7^th Cavalry into detachments led by Benteen and Reno, and ultimately their failure to come to Custer’s aid.

Using archival photographs, illustrations, present-day landscapes and interviews with historians: Nathaniel Philbrick, Richard Slotkin, Louis Warren, Michael A. Elliott, Edward Linenthal, Gerard Baker, Paul Hutton, Louise Barnett, Shirley Leckie Reed and Philip J. Deloria; many of whom have written books on the Custers and the Battle of Little Bighorn, it is hard to find much of anything to criticize.

However, it is a telling of Custer’s life told by and large from a white American point of view.  The documentary could have only been enhanced by the adding in of the Native American viewpoint, which would have necessarily lengthened the film, and in all fairness to the producer, writer and director of the project, Custer was the main focus of their documentary.

Nathaniel Philbrick, however is in a unique position of having written “Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War,” a book about the friendly relationship of the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony with the Native Americans which devolved two generations later into King Philip’s War, and also “The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn,” which according to the documentary was “the last major battle of the Indian Wars.”  It would have been interesting to hear Philbrick’s thoughts on the evolution of the relationship between the white settlers and the Native Americans.

I do have one very minor, nit-picky criticism:  early in the documentary Custer is referred to as “the first born son of a blacksmith turned farmer,” which is incorrect.  Custer was in fact the third child Emanuel Custer’s second marriage, and his fifth son.

Read more about the Custer family HERE.

The Custer Family

George Armstrong Custer

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER, the son of Emanuel Henry Custer and Marie (Ward) Kirkpatrick, was born on December 5, 1839 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. He was killed on June 25, 1876 in the Battle of Little Big Horn. He married Elizabeth Bacon on February 9, 1864, daughter of Daniel Stanton Bacon and Eleanor Sophia Page. She was born on April 8, 1842 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. She died on April 4, 1933 in New York City, New York.

Custer’s father, Emanuel Henry Custer, was born on December 10, 1806 in Crespatown, Allegany County, Maryland, and died on November 27, 1892 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. He was married first to Matilda Viers on August 7, 1828 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. She died on July 18, 1835.  He married, as his second wife, Marie (Ward) Kirkpatrick on February 23, 1836 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio.  She was the daughter of James Grier Ward and Catherine Rogers. She was born on May 31, 1807 in Burgettstown, Washington County, Pennsylvania and died on January 13, 1882 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.  She was the widow of Israel Kirkpatrick, whom she married on August 1, 1823. He was born on February 14, 1796 in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and died on March 3, 1835 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio.

Emanuel Henry Custer and Matilda Viers had the following children:

Hannah Custer died in infancy.

Brice William Custer was born on April 23, 1831. He died on April 6, 1904. He married Marie Stockton in 1850.

John Viers Custer was born on April 22, 1833. He died on July 29, 1836.

Emanuel Henry Custer and Marie (Ward) Kirkpatrick had the following children:

James Custer was born on November 12, 1836 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. He died on December 24, 1837 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio.

Samuel Custer was born on October 30, 1838 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. He died on January 16, 1839 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio.

George Armstrong Custer (see above).

Nevin Johnson Custer (see below).

Thomas Ward Custer was born on March 15, 1845 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. He was killed on June 25, 1876 in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Boston Custer was born on October 31, 1848 in Harrison County, Ohio. He was killed on June 25, 1876 in the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Margaret Emma Custer was born on January 5, 1852. She died in March 1910 in New York City, New York. She married first to James Calhoun, son of James and Charlotte Calhoun. He was born on August 24, 1845 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. He was killed on June 25, 1876 in the Battle of Little Big Horn.  She married secondly to John H. Maugham Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.in 1904.

Marie Ward and Israel Kirkpatrick had the following child:

Lydia Ann Kirkpatrick (see below).

Nevin Johnson Custer, Custer’s brother, was born on July 29, 1842 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio, and died on February 25, 1915 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. He married Ann North. She was born in 1843, and died in 1922 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Nevin Johnson Custer and Ann North had the following children:

Claribel C. Custer was born on September 5, 1863 in New Rumley, Harrison County, Ohio. She died on July 9, 1950 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. She married Andrew Vivian.

Armstrong Custer was born in 1864. He died in 1929.

Lula B. Custer was born in 1870 and died in 1938.

James Calhoun Custer (see below).

William Bacon Custer was born in 1874, and died in 1940 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Charles Custer was born on February 6, 1879, and died on September 3, 1899 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Lydia Ann Kirkpatrick, Custer’s half-sister, was born on October 9, 1825. She died on June 27, 1906. She married David Reed on December 1, 1846. He was born on June 7, 1824. He died on March 10, 1913 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

David Reed and Lydia Ann Kirkpatrick had the following children:

Marie E. Reed was born on August 7, 1848. She died on March 3, 1931 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Lilla Belle Reed was born on April 26, 1854. She died on April 26, 1854 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Emma Reed was born on July 30, 1856. She died on December 11, 1943 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, USA. She married Frederic Sanxay Calhoun, son of James and Charlotte Calhoun. He was born on April 19, 1847 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. He died on March 20, 1904 in Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.

Harry Armstrong "Autie" Reed was born on April 27, 1858. He was killed on June 25, 1876 at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

James Calhoun Custer, Custer’s nephew, was born in 1871. He died in 1954 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan. He married Elizabeth Ann Renner. She was born in 1874, and died in 1924 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

James Calhoun Custer and Elizabeth Ann Renner had the following children:

Margaret Elizabeth Custer was born in 1896. She died in 1957 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Miriam Irene Custer

Brice Calhoun William Custer

Charles Armstrong Custer was born on January 14, 1910. He died on November 25, 1992 in Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan.

Charles A. Chase

Company L.

Was born in Gainesville, Wyoming county, State of New York, on the 10th day of March, 1837. “At the age of twelve years I was thrown on my own resources, and worked by the month summers, did chores for my board winters, and went to school in same county I was born in. My education was limited. At the age of eighteen I had accumulated enough wealth to go west and grow up with the country. Came by boat to Chicago; drove a team from Chicago in the fall of 1855 to Black Rock Fails, Wisconsin; worked in the pineries that winter, and in the spring of 1856, with my clothes tied up in a cotton handkerchief. I took it afoot nearly five hundred miles to Anamosa. Iowa. There I ran across Wm. T. Shaw, afterward Colonel of the Fourteenth Iowa Infantry Volunteers, bought ninety acres of land from him, and went to work for him by the month. Worked for him until I was married, and after I was married for nearly one year, when the war broke out and he went to war. By this time I had got my land partly broken up and improved. The next spring; built a small house on it, and my wife, self and small child, a boy not a year old, moved into our new home. That was in the spring of 1862. In August, 1862, Lincoln called for 300,000 more men. I took a train and went to Dubuque and enlisted in Company L First Regiment Iowa Cavalry Volunteers, for three years or during the war: got a three days furlough, went home, and in three days bid my young weeping wife with babe in her arms good-bye, and started for the front. Was not long in getting into battle at Prairie Grove, where we met with a warm reception. I helped to pull out a mountain howitzer there that was between the two armies without receiving a scratch, but received two bullets in my clothes at the time. I re-enlisted on the 4th day of January. 1864, and was mustered out the 16th day of February, 1866, at Austin, Texas. Got home about the 25th day of March, 1866. In a short time went to Omaha, Nebraska; took a tie contract on the Union Pacific railroad; finished that; went to Aurora, Illinois; engaged in the milling business for two years; moved back to Anamosa, Iowa; went to farming; farmed for a few years; sold out my farm, bought a drove of cattle, and drove them to Laramie City, Wyoming Territory; was two months on the way. This was in the year 1874. Camped out with my family all the way — standing guard half the night from Central City, Nebraska, until I reached Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. At Cheyenne I received the news of General Custer's death by the hands of the Sioux Indians. I did not shed many tears over his downfall, as I had suffered more hardships in six months under him than I did from the time I enlisted until the war closed in the spring of 1865 — all this, too, after the war had closed and it was not necessary to inflict such punishments on the old soldiers who had fought so long and hard to save the Union. I can forgive but never can forget him. I engaged in the cattle business until the year of 1881; was very successful at that. Sold out in 1881; went to Rochester, New York; engaged in the milling business there: was successful at that, until my health failed me in 1886, and I had to close up my business there. Went to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and by using the water from those mineral springs regained my health, and to-day finds me back at Laramie City, Wyoming, in the wholesale and retail grocery business, after an absence of seven years. During all this time my wife has stood by me, and if I am entitled to any credit, to her belongs more than half. We are both broken down in health, but hope we have enough of this world's goods to last us the few remaining years we have to spend here. I have nothing to regret in my life, only the six months' service under General Custer. The balance of my services while in the army I always tried to do my duty and did it cheerfully and without a murmur, and have always been glad that I was one that helped to save my country. I always found a true and good friend in Colonel Wm. T. Shaw; may he live to a good old age. I have nothing to say against any of our officers or men; I have a good will for all — don't know that I have an enemy either among officers or men. I think they all tried to do their duty as men to the best of their ability. It was a hard struggle and a long struggle, but thank God our country was saved."

SOURCE: Charles H. Lothrop, A History Of The First Regiment Iowa Cavalry Veteran Volunteers, p. 348-50

War News.

Washington, August 10. – Brig. Gen. Custer commanding a brigade under Pleasanton with a small force of cavalry, on Saturday came up with Mosley’s [sic] guerrillas, commanded by that notorious partisan chief in person. They fled before our cavalry and left twelve prisoners in our hands, who were turned over to Pleasanton. Mosely [sic] escaped under cover of a dense wood, when our forces were upon his heels.

Memphis, August 9. – A company of citizen scouts about seventy five in number who were organized in the fore part of June last to resist the rebel conscription, in North Alabama have thus far evaded every effort of the rebel authorities to catch them. They report to the Commander at Corinth that their numbers are now increasing, and that they have captured or driven out nearly every officer who was trying to enforce the draft.

Large numbers of deserters who have their arms with them are in the mountains of Pikeville, Alabama, and are organizing with the citizens to resist the draft.

A correspondent of the Missouri Republican thus writes from Memphis.

As soon as the surrender of Vicksburg became generally known throughout the States spoken of, a peace feeling began to develop itself in all sections.

Within the last week, Union leagues have been formed in several counties in Mississippi. Where there is no rebel army – where the people can give free expression to their feelings, there the cause of the Union is comparatively strong, and its adherents are more numerous than in sections where the army has been encamped.

Forest of the Harris cavalry is under arrest, charged with having defrauded the Government of $5,000.

The draft is nearly completed in the western part of New York. Revisions of the enrollment lists have been ordered in the first nine districts of the State. The draft therein will take place in tow weeks.

Jeff Davis is ill at Richmond, and doubts are entertained of his recovery. It is said that Lee has addressed a letter to Jeff Davis, calling upon him not to hang the two Federal officers now confined in Richmond, as his son, Gen. W. T. Lee, would in consequence be hung. If this is resisted, he declares his intention to throw up his commission. It is not thought that the rebels will hang our officers.

- Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, August 15, 1863