Custer & Rosser at Trevilian Station

[Diane Merkel]

I would love to have Eric Wittenberg answer this question that was sent in but, of course, all are welcome to chime in if you can answer:

In various notes I've found on Thomas Rosser there's mention of when he "captured a number of prisoners" from Custer at Trevilian Station. Rosser was the chief engineer on the Northern Pacific Railroad, eastern division and was at Dakota-Montana.

I think that means they were southern prisoners that Custer had, and not some of Custer's men that Rosser took.

Am I right?...or can you set me right?

[biggordie]

They probably were mainly men of the 5th Michigan, not southern prisoners that Custer had previously taken. According to Gregory Urwin, in Custer Victorious p163 [Bison Books paper edition 1990]:

"Custer's total casualties were 416, including 41 dead and 242 captured [leaving 133 wounded or missing]. Nearly 50 percent of the 5th Michigan Cavalry had been taken prisoner."

Urwin references sources for this information, as: Official Records of the War...Series 1, vol. 36, pt 1, p 832; Monoghan "Trevilian Station" p 258; and Kidd "Recollections of a Cavalryman" pp364-366. I have not checked his sources, as I usually do, since this event is not really a part of my studies.

Custer also lost "everything except my toothbrush," as he wrote to Libbie 21 June 1864 [Merrington's The Custer Story p 104, Barnes and Noble 1994].

Gordie

[conz]

I believe that was where he also lost his cook, wasn't it? But I recall that she bluffed her way out and returned to Custer a couple days later.

Rosser was part of the large group of Confederate cavalry officers that captured some of his men that day.

Custer and Rosser were friends at West Point, and continued that friendship after they finished trying to kill each other during the "late unpleasantness."

Clair

[biggordie]

If I recall my history correctly, which is always a good question, Custer was the one who convinced Rosser, who had holed up at his family home, or somewhere, to surrender himself to Federal authority [in the form of Custer], writing him a note to the effect "Time to come out, old friend." Rosser had, ostensibly, avoided the surrender, and was contemplating guerilla warfare.

I also read somewhere, just recently, that Custer was instrumental in obtaining Rosser's job as Chief Engineer, having seen him in charge of a section crew laying track, and mentioning to the top man that Rosser was an engineer by training, and an officer and a gentleman of high repute.

I have no noted sources for this information, however, and as it is not a part of the original question, I throw it out there as background. Rosser was one of Custer's strongest defenders after the LBH.

Gordie

[ericwittenberg]

I'm sorry--I missed this altogether until just now.

Most of the prisoners were men of the 5th Michigan--a large percentage of them were snagged, but there were also men from the other three regiments of the MCB taken as well.

Eric

[Diane Merkel]

Thanks, Eric!

[ericwittenberg]

Diane,

Sure, no problem.

All of that is addressed at length in my book on Trevilian, by the way.

Eric

[Diane Merkel]

Eric's books can be found and at www.ericwittenberg.com/books.htm. The one about Trevilian Station is Glory Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station.