American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

I like to re-read books from my ACW collection whenever I can. And one of my favorites is Douglas Southall Freeman's classic, three-volume work, Lee's Lieutenants.

In the back of Volume Three there is a curious and interesting passage concerning the final cornering of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomatox. George Custer took it upon himself to sweep grandly across the field under a flag of truce into Gordon's lines and demand the surrender of the Rebels, where he was eventually dressed down in no uncertain terms by Longstreet for his brashness and utter lack of civility. Freeman's narrative continues from that point.

"Custer said no more, but when he got beyond the range of Longstreet's voice, he asked for a guard to take him back to his own lines. His mount, as it happened, was badly blown as well as of poor stock. He looked at his animal and then with surprise at some of those brought from home by Southern officers and tended with the utmost care even on the retreat. One of Col. John Haskell's horses, in particular, caught the eye of the young Federal. He would like to have that mount, he said. Haskell replied promptly that the horse was not for sale or plunder. Already the South Carolinian, scrutinizing Custer, had observed a familiar pair of handsome spurs on the Union officer's boots. Was Frank Huger alive? Haskell asked, and explained that he had identified the artillerist's spurs. Custer flushed visibly and explained that he was wearing them to take care of them for Huger whom he had known at West Point."

Freeman includes the following note about this passage.

"Huger was graduated thirty-first in the class of 1860; Custer was thirty-fourth in the class of 1861. Haskell noted that the spurs were very handsome, Mexican and gold mounted. They had been General Santa Anna's and had been given to Gen. Benjamin Huger, father of Frank Huger. "Years after," Haskell wrote, "Colonel Huger told me that he had never been able to get [the spurs] from Custer, who insisted on continuing to take care of them until his death."

Were those same spurs on Custer's boots when he eventually rode to the Little Big Horn River? Did Santa Anna's prize spurs wind up in some Souix Indian warrior's tent?

I've not had the time to investigate any further, but I know that we've a lot of savvy, historical investigators in this club who just might be able to shed some more light on this story!

_________________
General Jos. C. Meyer, ACWGC
Union Army Chief of Staff
Commander, Army of the Shenandoah
Commander, Army of the Tennessee
(2011-2014 UA CoA/GinC)

http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=s ... ollins.pdf

"This is the Calle Plateros, Mexico City,
Circa 1834. El presidente seeks out
An artisan of yet finer touch, desiring
For the heel a gold-inlaid band exquisitely
Engraved with trailing vines. Next he locates
A man that knows the raw whiff and burn
Of everyday toil, a craftsman who works
In hand-tooled leather; Santa Anna wants
Straps he can wear buckled on the inside
To show off conchos of purest silver."

_________________
General Ernie Sands
President ACWGC -Sept 2015- Dec 2020
7th Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Corps, AoT
ACWGC Records Site Admin

"If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there."

Also:

http://custer.over-blog.com/article-13997888.html

"The first documented account of the Huger spur dates from September 1847 after Santa Anna's defeat at the hands of General Winfield Scott In Mexico City. Santa Anna surrendered his sword to Scott, who, in a gesture of respect, promptly returned it. To show his appreciation, Santa Anna removed his spurs and presented them to Scott. Soon thereafter, Scott gave them to his chief of ordnance and artillery, Captan Benjamin Huger, for bravery at Vera Cruz, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec. "

_________________
General Ernie Sands
President ACWGC -Sept 2015- Dec 2020
7th Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Corps, AoT
ACWGC Records Site Admin

"If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there."

"Frank Huger fought with the Norfolk Light Artillery, known as Huger's Battery, and quickly moved up in the ranks after service in the battles of the Seven Days, Sulphur Springs, Harpers Ferry, and Fredericksburg. In 1863 he was promoted to major and fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. By the end of that year, he was a colonel in command of his own battalion. He was captured at Saylor's Creek in April 1865 by General George Armstrong Custer, a friend from West Point. Knowing that the war was over for him, the Virginian lent his prized spurs to the flamboyant Federal officer."

_________________
General Ernie Sands
President ACWGC -Sept 2015- Dec 2020
7th Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Corps, AoT
ACWGC Records Site Admin

"If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there."