Page 86 - 4091-BOOK1

LOT 71
Historic Calderwood & Son Double Action Pinfire Revolver with “G.A.C.” Inscribed Case and Receipt from Family Descendant Lt. Col. Charles A. Custer Identifying the Cased
Set as Owned by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer - NSN, 11 mm cal.,
3 3/8 inch part round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This “GAC” inscribed cased set is accompanied by a May 31, 1956, dated document with letter head for
the United States Army Reserve Training Center Office of the Unit Advisor at 111 South Church Street Las Cruces, New Mexico, signed by Charles A. Custer stating: To Whom it May Concern, I have on this date presented to Dr. Lawrence Frost, for value received, one 44 cal.
pin fire revolver made by Calderwood
& Sons along with presentation case with the initials G.A.C. on a brass
plaque, belonging to Maj. Gen. Geo.
A. Custer.” Also include is a note card from Dr. Lawrence Frost reading “GEN. GEO. A. CUSTER. Personal revolver in presentation case used by Geo. A. Custer found in the attic of the Custer home on N. Custer road by Lt. Col. Charles Custer and purchased by me in 1956. This revolver was made by CALDERWOOD
& SON. Same revolver mention in THE CUSTER STORY by M. Merington. It is not clear where in the book the revolver is mentioned, as the book has mentions of Custer using a “pistol” and a “revolver” at various points but no clear descriptions of the handguns. He may have been referring to a passage on page 174 noting that Custer kept a revolver under his pillow at night. Custer’s long time orderly Sgt. John Ryan (1845-1926) survived the Battle of Little Bighorn as part of Reno’s battalion and later wrote about his time serving with Custer
and stated he carried two pistols: “one
a .45 caliber Colt, the other a French Navy.” The latter likely in reference to
the Lefaucheux Model 1858 revolver adopted by the French Navy which is similar in basic design to the current revolver although the Model 1858 was single action. Many Lefaucheux revolvers were imported and used during the
Civil War. The revolver has a dovetailed blade front sight, “CALDERWOOD & SON” inscribed on top of the barrel, an ejector rod on the right, Birmingham proofs, double line borders, and checkered grips. The case has “GAC” neatly inscribed on the shield shaped inlay on the lid, blue velvet lining, a cartridge block with several pinfire cartridges, and a key. Calderwood & Son were gunmakers in
84 Dublin, Ireland.
George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) needs little introduction for those who study U.S. Military history, antique American firearms, and the West in
the 19th century. He graduated from West Point in 1861 (despite his rowdy behavior) and was sent off to fight for the Union during the Civil War, emerging as a bold and flashy cavalry commander with notable victories, including over J.E.B. Stuart at Gettysburg, and rising
to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers at the age of just 23. After “the late unpleasantness,” Custer remained with the army as an officer in the cavalry in the West and became the lieutenant colonel of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, earning additional national attention
for his controversial victory over the Southern Cheyenne at the Battle of Washita River in 1868 before being sent to the Northern Plains. There he and his men clashed with the Lakota and their allies who were resisting encroachment on their lands, including the coveted Black Hills, after repeated broken treaties and Custer’s announcement of the discovery of gold after the Black Hills Expedition in 1874 which triggered a gold rush onto native land protected
by the Treaty of Laramie in 1868. The army attempted to keep trespassers out but were not successful, and the Grant administration attempted to purchase the territory. The tribes naturally rebuffed the offer. The government sent the army to push the “hostiles” back into the reservations. Though only portions of the Lakota, Dakota, Arapaho, and Northern Cheyenne resisted, rather than face small dissident bands in scattered villages, Custer, the U.S. Army, and their Crow and Arikara allies faced united opposition with hundreds if not thousands of warriors from multiple tribes.
Custer led the 7th Cavalry in pursuit of the hostiles following the Battle of the Rosebud. Custer sought a major victory for his own fame which could potentially propel him to the White House. His men and their horses were tired, and Custer underestimated the size of the combined village on the Little Bighorn River despite warnings from his Crow scouts. Custer split his force into three battalions in an effort to prevent the Plains Indians from escaping and in doing so further weakened his already outnumbered men. Reno’s Custer’s battalion of five companies was wiped out. Among
his men were his brothers Boston and Thomas as well as his nephew Henry A.