Post-Washita General Custer Letter Sold at Auction for $550,000

Heritage Auctions' Historical Manuscripts & Texana sale was led by an autograph letter signed by General George Armstrong Custer which went for $550,000.

Written on January 2, 1869 from Fort Cobb in present-day Oklahoma, the 21-page letter to his wife, Elizabeth 'Libbie' Custer, provides an account of the aftermath of the Battle of the Washita and the winter campaign on the Southern Plains. Shortly after leading the attack on Black Kettle’s Southern Cheyenne village, Custer declared “The Indian war is over” and detailed his central role in councils with Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Apache leaders as well as his imprisonment of Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Lone Wolf.

He also reflects on his growing reputation as an “Indian fighter,” predicts that the Washita would stand unrivaled in frontier warfare, and writes with confidence about his place in history, while also filling pages with affectionate assurances to Libbie.

“This is one of the most important and revealing Custer letters ever to come to market,” said Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “It captures him in real time, at the height of his confidence, shaping both his legacy and the narrative of the American West."

Other highlights from the sale included:

• a partial autograph manuscript from President Lincoln’s final Annual Message to Congress, written in his hand and delivered in December 1864 (sold for $200,000)
• William P. Dole’s railroad pass to travel to Gettysburg on November 18, 1863, and a Gettysburg marshal’s ticket dated November 19 ($187,500)
• a rare 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence produced by historian Peter Force from the original William J. Stone copperplate engraving ($62,500)