June 12-13, 2019 Edged Weapon, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/12/2019
This relic shell casing is believed to be one that Lt. Col Custer carried on either his person or his horse into the Battle of the Little Bighorn. It is well known through contemporary witness accounts and historical research that Custer carried a Remington .50-70 caliber "rolling block" sporting rifle into battle. No direct evidence for George Custer’s personal firearms (a Remington sporting rifle and Royal Irish Constabulary pistols) was located on the Custer battlefield. However, a single .50-caliber bullet fired from a Remington sporting rifle was found at the Reno-Benteen defense site. The bullet was found embedded in the hospital area, and its orientation suggests it was fired from an Indian position east of the defense site. The bullet is not definitive evidence of Custer’s Remington in Indian hands, but it shows that at least one .50-caliber Remington sporting rifle was used in the battle. (Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, p. 116). Original letter included with this lot states that the relic shell was recovered by Mr. Keith McDougal on October 21, 1976 using a metal detector on range land leased to the Scott Cattle Company. The casing was recovered approximately 200 yards North and slightly East of the Calhoun position on Battle Ridge. Research done by the shell's previous owner indicates that the Remington company validated the fact they produced brass shells of this caliber during the period in question. Most all of the Indian used and US Cavalry shell casings recovered during the next few decades were almost entirely made of copper. The casing was previously in the collection of the late respected Custer author Mr. John Carroll of Bryan, Texas, and was one of his prized possessions. Carroll was co-author of the monumental work, "Roll Call on the Little Bighorn" and author of more than 50 other books and pamphlets on Custer. Carroll was a pre-eminent purveyor of Custer related items in the 1970's and 1980's and was proud to own this piece. The accompanying correspondence is a full five years before any detailed metal detecting work was done in an official manner, and many years before the well known forensic testing of cartridges from the battlefield. Circumstantial and fact based evidence indicates that the story is genuine as well as the relic casing. PROVENANCE: Includes signed and notarized affidavit from Mr. Keith McDougal Jr. dated Sept. 20, 1979, and original letter from McDougal to noted Custer authority John Carroll dated August 8, 1979. From the Dr. Frank Wagner cavalry museum collection.
Condition: (Relic).
Paperwork
References to Shell Casing in "Custer Sporting Rifles"