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Press Release - March 2, 2026
Post-Washita Custer Letter Realizes $550,000 to Lead Heritage Historical Manuscripts Auction to More than $2.5 Million
| Feb. 26 auction results show continued collector demand for Civil War-era Lincoln items and enduring appreciation of early founding document reproductions DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT Written on January 2, 1869, from Fort Cobb in present-day Oklahoma, the 21-page letter to his wife, Elizabeth “Libbie” Custer, offers a vivid account of the aftermath of the Battle of the Washita and the winter campaign on the Southern Plains. Just weeks after leading the controversial attack on Black Kettle’s Southern Cheyenne village, Custer boldly declared, “The Indian war is over,” and detailed his central role in councils with Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and Apache leaders as well as his imprisonment of Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Lone Wolf. At once a detailed account of his strategy and a deeply personal document, the letter reveals Custer’s ambition and self-image at a pivotal moment in his career. He reflects on his growing reputation as an “Indian fighter,” predicts that the Washita would stand unrivaled in frontier warfare and writes with striking confidence about his place in history, while also filling pages with affectionate assurances to Libbie. “This is one of the most important and revealing Custer letters ever to come to market,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “It captures him in real time, at the height of his confidence, shaping both his legacy and the narrative of the American West. Collectors immediately recognized the combination of historical weight, length and candor. Documents of this magnitude and intimacy are extraordinarily rare.” Two Civil War–era artifacts relating to Abraham Lincoln realized impressive results at auction, underscoring the strong market for material tied to the nation’s defining conflict. A partial autograph manuscript from President Lincoln’s final Annual Message to Congress, written in his hand and delivered in December 1864, sold for $200,000. Complementing that result, a rare pair consisting of William P. Dole’s railroad pass to travel to Gettysburg on November 18, 1863, and a Gettysburg marshal’s ticket dated November 19, sold for $187,500. “These lots drew exceptional attention because they speak to both the leadership of Lincoln and the lived experiences surrounding pivotal moments in the war,” Maddalena says. “The Lincoln manuscript offers a direct window into the president’s own voice at a crucial stage of the conflict, while the Gettysburg pass and marshal’s ticket connect us to the historic journey that led to one of the most iconic speeches in American history. Collectors appreciated the rarity and significance of these pieces, and the strong prices reflect that deep resonance.” As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, a rare 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence produced by historian Peter Force realized $62,500. Printed from the original William J. Stone copperplate engraving, Force’s edition formed part of his monumental American Archives project and represents one of the earliest and most important efforts to faithfully reproduce and preserve the nation’s founding document for a new generation. With only a limited number believed to have been issued, the broadside stands as both a tribute to the enduring power of the Declaration and an artifact of the young Republic’s commitment to safeguarding its history. Images and results for all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/6328. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Jesse Hughey, Public Relations Specialist |