General GEORGE A CUSTER - War Dated Doc Signed

George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) Union Major General. Custer's vigorous pursuit of Confederate troops under Gen. Robert E. Lee in retreat from Richmond hastened Lee's surrender in 1865. In 1874 he led U.S. troops to investigate rumors of gold in South Dakota's Black Hills, a sacred Indian hunting ground. The resulting gold rush led to hostile encounters with the Indians. In 1876 the 36-year-old Custer commanded one of two columns of a planned attack against Indians camped near Montana's Little Bighorn River. He rashly decided to attack without the other column, and in the Battle of the Little Bighorn he and all his troops were killed. 8" x 10" partially printed document endorsed, on the reverse, "Headqtrs 2nd Brig, 3rd Div. Dec 28th 1863. Approved & respectfully forwarded G. A. Custer Brig Genl." The document is a furlough request for John P. Johnson. Below Custer's endorsement the document is approved by Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (1836-1881) Major General. Kilpatrick led a cavalry division at Gettysburg and commanded Sherman's cavalry during the "March to the Sea." Includes an 8" x 10" color portrait of Custer and a limited edition (649/950) lithograph, The Last Command: Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn, signed an numbered by artist Kirk Stirnweis.