Manuscript Collection: George A. Custer
Collection Overview
Collection summary derived from "Guidebook to Manuscripts", 1969: These letters and newspaper clippings deal mostly with the famous "Battle of the Little Big Horn", and one letter concerns a horse named "Don Juan." There are photographs of Custer and his horse, "Comanche." George A. Custer, (1839-1876) an American army officer, was born at New Rumley, Ohio. He graduated from West Point in 1861 and served through the Civil War. He engaged in western patrol duty and in Indian fighting, especially in the expedition to Black Hills (1874). He was killed with all his immediate command in the Battle of Little Big Horn June 25, 1876. Interesting items: A telegram from General G. A. Custer to Lawrence Barrett in New York. Barrett was the famous Shakespearean actor and an intimate friend of Custer. The wire is dated March 4, 1876, St. Paul Minnesota, and reads, "We start to meet Sitting Bull tomorrow-will reach Lincoln Monday." Also in Custer 's hand is a letter to Mr. Barrett in which he writes "... Mr. S. B. had better put his house in order as his friends in the words of Babcock may visit him ... " For further information, see the "Benteen-Goldin" and "Cole" papers.
Access Restrictions
Available by appointment only at the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR) with the exception of materials with donor restrictions. Contact Library staff in advance to inquire if materials exist pertaining to your research interests.
Use Restrictions
Please contact the Rights and Reproduction Department for information on publishing or reproducing materials included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Gilcrease Museum as the owner of the physical materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all necessary permissions from the copyright holder.
Provenance
The Gilcrease Foundation acquired these materials before 1964 and is housed in the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR). The library currently receives most materials through community donation, board members, artists and the acquisition of manuscript collections.
Staff, interns, and volunteers of the Thomas Gilcrease Library and Archive have contributed to the organization and maintenance of the files since the collection passed to the City of Tulsa in the 1950s.