Note 135 — APPENDICES

At the risk of tiring the reader, but because I am sensitive in the matter and anxious not to be misunderstood, I append here a letter written by me to a sister of General Custer, who had expressed the hope that I would not take the position that he disobeyed his orders

July 13th, 1904.

My Dear Madam:

I have received and read and reread your letter of the 12th inst. That letter and the thought of Mrs. Custer, whose character, in common with all Americans, I respect and admire, taken in connection with the position which my conscience, much against my will, has compelled me to assume, has filled me with deep regret.

Having read thus far, you will undoubtedly divine that I am compelled to say that I believe General Custer did disobey his orders. I have nowhere stated that I consider him guilty of rashness. I have also made it plain, I think, that even though he did disobey his orders, the ultimate annihilation of his battalion was due to the cowardice or incapacity of Major Reno.

I remember to have seen General Custer when I was a boy in Kansas. My father, who was a veteran of the Civil War, had a great admiration for him. I was present when the bodies of the officers of the Seventh Cavalry were brought back for reinterment at Fort Leavenworth. My wife, a Southern woman, is a cousin of the late General Dod Ramseur, who was General Custer’s intimate friend. The family have never forgotten General Custer’s kindness when Ramseur was killed.

I did, and still have, a warm admiration for the brilliant and soldierly qualities of General Custer. He was, and is, my beau ideal of a cavalry soldier. When I began to write these articles, I would not hear the charge that he had disobeyed orders. But I have been compelled by my investigations to take that position. I cannot tell you how painful it has been to me, and it is, to come to this conclusion. I have thought long and deeply over the matter.

Of course I read General Hughes’ now famous article. I did not, however, allow that article alone to determine me; but I carefully considered every account. I examined every discussion which I could find. Not only that, I corresponded with a number of officers, among them being Lieutenant-General Miles, Major-General Hughes, Brigadier-General C. A. Woodruff, Brigadier-General Carrington, and Colonel Godfrey. The remarks of these officers were submitted to one another. Their statements were weighed and digested with the utmost care by me. I could come to no other conclusion than that I have arrived at.

As an Appendix I have inserted in full my correspondence with different officers concerning the matter. I have been glad to print all that Colonel Godfrey, who has indeed been a powerful advocate in opposition to my views, has written. I have called attention to one significant fact which, in my opinion, would fully clear General Custer from the charge of disobedience. That is the affidavit of an alleged witness to the last conversation between Terry and General Custer.

General Miles refers to this affidavit in his book, “Personal Recollections of General Nelson A. Miles.” President E. Benjamin Andrews also refers to it in his book, “The United States in our Own Time.” I wrote to President Andrews, who gave Miles as his authority. I wrote to General Miles three times, registering the last letter, asking him to substantiate the affidavit, the existence of which was doubted by many army officers. General Miles has made no reply. I take it for granted, therefore, that he cannot substantiate the affidavit.

I have said frankly that if he can prove this affidavit and establish the credibility of the affiant, I will make public amends in the most ample manner for having said General Custer disobeyed his orders. I have said that if anybody can convince me that I have been wrong in my conclusion; if any evidence can be produced which will establish the contrary, I shall be most happy to retract what I have said in any possible way that may be suggested to me.

I beg you to believe that I have written in no spirit of animosity to General Custer. My real feelings for General Custer can easily be seen from my article on the Battle of the Washita, to which you have referred. It would be most agreeable to me if you would forward this letter to Mrs. Custer.

Again deploring the unfortunate conclusion I am conscientiously compelled to arrive at, and regretting more than I can express that I must give pain to Mrs. Custer, to you, and to the friends of General Custer, I am,

Yours sincerely,

Cyrus Townsend Brady.