Collecting General Custer and the 7th Cavalry – WorthPoint

Few American military men are as recognizable as George Armstrong Custer. One of the youngest Brigadier Generals in the United States Army, Custer had a string of daring victories during the Civil War. After 1865, he moved out West and encountered Native American tribes rebelling against settler encroachment.

In this volatile situation out West, he continued to achieve results—most notably at the controversial Battle of the Washita in 1868. By the middle of the 1870s, the action had moved to the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory, where a huge native rebellion was brewing.

While some historians see Custer as a glory hound who callously led his men to their deaths, others contend that he was, in fact, a skilled “Indian fighter” who used aggressive tactics, relying on speed and surprise against numerically superior forces. Whatever the truth, June 25th, 1876, saw Custer’s luck finally run out on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. The battle itself went on for another day (the Reno/Benteen defense), but it is the death of Custer and half the regiment on June 25th that is most famous.

Like Gettysburg, the Little Bighorn is one of those battles that has earned a place in the collective American psyche, helping to shape the national character. Few other American battles are studied in such minute detail and are the subject of so much debate. Since 1876, memorabilia concerning George Custer and his beloved 7th Cavalry Regiment has been produced by the bucket-load. Below is only a small selection of what is on offer.

Custer Books

No other person is more responsible for forging the Custer legend than his widow: Elizabeth “Libbie” Custer. Libbie outlived her husband by fifty-six years, dying at the grand age of ninety. After the catastrophe at the Little Bighorn, she went on to publish a series of popular books about her life with the general on his campaigns. Of these works, it is the still-popular Boots and Saddles that ranks as the most famous. An 1885 first edition can be bought for around $300.

Custer Films

The classic film that got a whole generation of American schoolchildren hooked on the Custer myth was They Died with Their Boots On (1941). Starring Errol Flynn as Custer, the film did the Little Bighorn as only Hollywood could, creating one of the least accurate portrayals of the battle ever seen in cinema.

Of course, none of that mattered. It was history as it should have happened, complete with a grand regimental cavalry charge and Custer being the last man to go down while clutching the stars and stripes. Even today, They Died with Their Boots On is immensely entertaining.

One of the best ways to collect film memorabilia is through posters. A linen advertising poster of the film sold for nearly $400 a few years ago. As the film ages, the value of these items will naturally increase.

Custer Games

Prestige wargaming company GMT published Plains Indian Wars in 2021. In this board game, one side controls a combined force of settlers, cavalry, and wagon trains while the other player commands the Native American tribes, desperately trying to halt their progress. A new copy can go for over $65 on the American market and considerably more in Europe. 

For those interested solely in the battle and not the campaign, Little Bighorn from Legion Wargames offers a detailed tactical analysis of the engagement. Counters are provided for each company of the 7th Cavalry, as well as key figures like Custer and Crazy Horse. A sealed version can fetch around $60.     

Historical Items

Original memorabilia associated with the American Indian Wars is available to collectors with deep pockets.

The weapons used by either side will always attract buyers. The 7th Cavalry was almost exclusively armed with breech-loading carbine rifles. One Springfield model carried largely by officers previously sold for $15,000. On the Native side, Sioux arrows from the battle sell for about $30,000 each. 

Replica breech-loading army carbines are notably cheaper than the originals and are popular with re-enactors who take them into the field. Replica Sharps carbines carried by the rank and file can be obtained for around $1,000.

One remarkable period piece is Sitting Bull’s rifle. A Model 1863 “Trade Musket” produced in London, England by Parker Field & Co., this incredible item was probably acquired by the great Sioux war chief after the Bighorn at a Hudson Bay trading post in Canada when he was leading the remnants of his army north into British territory. British Trade Muskets were typically outdated smooth-bore weapons made specifically for the Native American market, and generally sold to tribes residing in Canada. Sitting Bull even carved his name into the stock of the weapon. Sold in 2018 for a whopping $162,500, anyone looking to buy this one-of-a-kind piece of history will need to come up with a significant offer.

Other astounding period pieces also occasionally come up for auction. One such is Lieutenant Charles Varnum’s uniform. Varnum was present at the Bighorn but did not accompany Custer’s command, instead joining the so-called Reno/Benteen defense on the other side of the battlefield, where he received two wounds during heavy fighting. The uniform fetched over $20,000 at auction.

Personal letters written by General Custer are also extremely valuable. One sold in 2010 for close to $15,000, but the item has likely risen in value since then.

Final Thoughts

The 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn is in 2026. This means that the time to stock up on Plains Wars memorabilia is now. Expect interest in Custer, the 7th and the Native American tribes they fought to grow in the next couple of years.

On a side note, anyone who is seriously interested in Custer and the 7th on campaign should check out Siobhan Fallon’s YouTube channel, as she is one of the finest online historians of the period.

It is also worth remembering that anyone interested in the period and in collecting is doing important preservation work for future generations of Americans. Such work also helps preserve the memory of the Native tribes of the plains whose way of life largely ended in the wake of the Bighorn, and the 268 men of the United States 7th Cavalry who never saw the sunrise on June 27th.

Matthew Doherty is a writer, editor, and teacher specializing in all things history-related. His work has been published in the UK Defence Journal, the Small Wars Journal, and The Collector. He holds an MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a BA from the University of Leeds. In his spare time, he also writes science fiction stories.

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