ALS signed “G. A. Custer,” eight pages, lightly-lined on two sets of adjoining sheets, 5.25 x 8, West Point, August 7, 1857. Letter to Minnie St. John, a young lady in Custer’s hometown of Monroe, Michigan. In part: “We have about three more weeks of camp life for this year, and the Superintendent is thinking of letting us spend the last two weeks of it on Boston Common or in the vicinity of some other large city. If we do go we will take our tents and all the necessaries of a camp life, but it is not decided yet…we are all anxious to go…I like West Point as well if not better than I did at first. I think it is the most romantic spot I ever saw. I am becoming accustomed to the strict discipline, and have escaped with but few demerit marks, though some find it difficult to avoid getting their number as one hundred & fifty marks would dismiss a person…as some offences [sic] give five demerit a person has to be very careful in his conduct. We have permission to go on public lands but there are limits which must not be crossed, but occasionally some of the cadets have the boldness to cross the sentinels posts at night and go to a small village two or three miles down the river for the purpose of getting things which are not allowed, such as ice cream, candies, fruit, and (I am sorry to say) some even go for wines and other liquors. They always change their cadet clothes for citizen's to prevent detection for the punishment of this offense is very severe and occasionally persons are dismissed and if not dismissed are confined in a light prison for three or four months. Night before last one of my classmates in company with two elder clansmen left camp about 11 o'clock at night went to the town and were seen by an officer who caught two of them, one of whom is my classmate, and both are now in confinement in their tents. One is in the tent next to mine and neither of them can leave their tents, and when they go to their meals they are marched under a guard of eight cadets. They will be courtmartialed and it is very probable that the 'old' cadet will be discharged and my classmate will be confined in prison for a few months…This seems hard but military law is very severe and those who overstep its boundaries must abide the consequences. We have two prisons here. One is a 'light' one and the other is a 'dark' one. The first one is a comfortable room and the only inconvenience is that the prisoner is allowed no hours for recreation and is marched to meals under a guard. But the dark prison is nothing more than a dungeon underground with not one ray of light and no furniture except a bed. It is seldom however that it is used, only in case of a very bad offence and then but for a short time." In fine condition, with some mild staining.
As evidenced by the fantastic content, Custer penned this letter very shortly after beginning his education at West Point—he had arrived in June 1857, and this letter from just two months later demonstrates his adjustment to the military life. While Custer did behave at first, his famous personality began to show through after the cadets returned from camp and began classes in September, where he began earning demerits for his rowdy behavior—‘trifling in ranks marching from parade,' 'calling 'Corporal' in a loud & boisterous voice,' 'hair out of uniform at guard meeting,' 'throwing snowballs on barrack steps,' and 'making noises at the sink' were among his infractions. All together, he amassed an amazing 726 demerits by the time he graduated, which actually occurred a year early in June 1861, because of the need for trained officers at the outbreak of the Civil War—in keeping with his character, Custer ranked dead last in his class of 34 graduates. In content alone this is an exceptional letter, describing the conditions experienced by the cadets at West Point in the years leading up to the war—that it is penned by one of the most legendary, recognizable names in military history elevates it to a phenomenal, historically significant piece. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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