Gen. George A. Custer Asks One of His Senior Officers to Command on His Black Hills Expedition

The Black Hills in Dakota Territory was part of the Lakota Sioux reservation guaranteed by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. There had always been rumors of gold there, however, and by 1874 the frontier settlements, and indeed all those who sought to exploit the area, were putting pressure on the United States government to permit exploration. President Grant was not in favor of making an incursion into Sioux lands, but both the army commander, Lieut. Gen. Philip B. Sheridan, and the ranking general serving in the Dakotas, George A. Custer, were. With Grant not willing to forbid it outright, Sheridan ordered the reconnaissance of the Black Hills, allegedly to look for a site on which to build a fort. The reconnaissance was organized and led by Custer, who brought along a photographer, several newspapermen and two prospectors — but who never once mentioned building a fort.

Custer prepared for the expedition into the Sioux lands at Fort Abraham Lincoln, which had been built just the year before near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. There he brought together ten companies of his 7th Cavalry, obtained supplies, and hired guides and teamsters, as well as a large contingent of Indian scouts. Then he determined to divide the expedition force into two battalions, and set about selecting senior field officers to command them; and this would not prove to be easy. Joseph Green Tilford was a full major and brevet colonel, and he and Maj. Marcus Reno commanded the companies in Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry. Reno was detached on another assignment, and as for Tilford, he was in ill health and had initially been given the choice of going or staying. Disliking Custer, he did not want to leave garrison duty on this hazardous venture. Custer secured one of Sheridan’s aides, Gen. George Forsyth, to command his right wing, but only Tilford seemed appropriate for the left wing, as he was nearby and familiar with the troops and terrain.

Letter Signed, Headquarters, Black Hills Expedition, Fort Lincoln, Dakota Territory, June 17, 1874, to Tilford, requesting that he join the expedition. “On the 13th instant, I addressed a communication to you making inquiries in regard to your desire to accompany the Black Hills Expedition, to which communication no reply has been received. Upon receipt of this communication, you will please inform these headquarters as to whether in your opinion you are able to take the field. I will add what I have stated in my former communication, that I strongly desire you to accompany the Expedition should there be no obstacle to your so doing.” Tilford hesitated in making his decision, or at least did not respond fast enough for Custer. This letter comes directly from the Tilford descendants and has never before been offered for sale.