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GENERAL CUSTER & GENERAL PLEASANTON IN THE FIELD, OCTOBER 9, 1863, PHOTO FROM DIRECT FAMILY DESCENT OF CUSTER FAMILY
02-21442-2
Large albumin photograph of General Custer and General Pleasanton mounted on 9″ x 11″ board as part of Alexander Gardner’s “Incidents of War”. The original photograph was taken October 9, 1863 at Warrenton, VA by Timothy H. O’Sullivan (ref. K-24, Katz Custer in Photographs). General Pleasanton was the first Union authority to recognize the brilliance of Custer and was one of the influential sources of his rapid climb in rank. Custer met with extreme favor under General Pleasanton. Pleasanton quickly came to depend on Lieutenant Custer to carry out dangerous commands on the battlefield. Accordingly, Custer enjoyed a warm relationship with him resembling that of a father and son, as Pleasanton trusted Custer and even called him “boy”. Custer received ample opportunities from this closeness and boasted, “I do not believe a father could love his son more than General Pleasanton loves me”.
PROVENANCE: Direct descent from descendants of James Calhoun Custer; Martin Lane Historic & Western Americana Lifetime Collection.
