Signed U.S. Army Cavalry Tactics Manual, General Custer.
A United States Army cavalry tactics manual published in 1861, and signed by Lt. (Acting Capt.)George Armstrong Custer in 1862. Custer was a 2nd lieutenant in a camp near Washington DC in January 1862 when he inscribed his name and location inside the book. Less than 10% of his known signatures include his rarely used initial "W" in his signature. Custer did this early in his career as ther are numerous documents from his West Point cadet days where he uses the "W" which is assumed to stand for his mother's maiden name of Ward.
Autographs of Custer when he was a Civil War General and Indian fighter are not infrequently encountered. However, Custer signatures from when he was a lieutenant are extremely rare as he was only a lieutenant from 24 June 1861 to 17 July 1862.
This is Volume I of US Army's instructions for the deployment of cavalry. It was widely used by both Union and Confederate armies. It instructs troop, platoon, and squadron units in: evolutions of the regiment and the line; a manual of arms for sword and pistol; music for all 38 cavalry bugle calls; and a special section for frontier cavalry operations.
Assigned by the US War Department in 1859 to produce a new, revised manual for US cavalry operations, Colonel Philip St. George Cooke wrote this book after extensive research of cavalry tactics currently in use in Europe, where he had observed the Crimean War (1854-1856). Originally published in 1860, this is the 1861 revised edition.
Colonel Cooke (later Major-General) lived from 1809 to 1895 and was a native of Leesburg, Virginia, and a West Point Class of 1827 graduate. He was a thirty-year veteran of frontier cavalry service, including the Black Hawk War and the Mexican War. Though a Virginian, Cooke fought for the Union during the Civil War. However, his children thought otherwise: His son joined the Confederacy and his daughter was the wife of Confederate General J.E.B Stuart.
ZFC Significant Flag
Provenance:
• Capt. (later Major General) George Armstrong Custer, 29 June 1862.
• Retained by G.A. Custer until passing, 1876.
• By descent in Custer home, Cass and Third Streets, Monroe, Michigan to White Family, circa1917.
• By descent in the White family to Bonnie White, until 1996.
• Acquired by private treaty from Bonnie White by Zaricor Flag collection, 1996.
Sources:
Cooke , Colonel Philip St. George, Cavalry Tactics or Regulations for The Instruction, Formations and Movements of The Cavalry of the Army And Volunteers of the United States, Vol. 1, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1861.
Philip St. George Cooke, Wikipedia, 20 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_St._George_Cooke
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
