I remember to have seen General Custer when I was a boy in Kansas. My father, who was a veteran of the Civil War, had a great admiration for him. I was present when the bodies of the officers of the Seventh Cavalry were brought back for reinterment at Fort Leavenworth. My wife, a Southern woman, is a cousin of the late General Dod Ramseur, who was General Custer’s intimate friend. The family have never forgotten General Custer’s kindness when Ramseur was killed. I did, and still have, a warm admiration for the brilliant and soldierly qualities of General Custer. He was, and is, my beau ideal of a cavalry soldier. When I began to write these articles, I would not hear the charge that he had disobeyed orders. But I have been compelled by my investigations to take that position. I cannot tell you how painful it has been to me, and it is, to come to this conclusion. I have thought long and deeply over the matter. Of course I read General Hughes’ now famous article. I did not, however, allow that article alone to determine me; but I carefully considered every account. I examined every discussion which I could find. Not only that, I corresponded with a number of officers, among them being Lieutenant-General Miles, Major-General Hughes, Brigadier-General C. A. Woodruff, Brigadier-General Carrington, and Colonel Godfrey. The remarks of these officers were submitted to one another. Their statements were weighed and digested with the utmost care by me. I could come to no other conclusion than that I have arrived at. As an Appendix I have inserted in full my correspondence with different officers concerning the matter. I have been glad to print all that Colonel Godfrey, who has indeed been a powerful advocate in opposition to my views, has written. I have called attention to one significant fact which, in my opinion, would fully clear General Custer from the charge of disobedience. That is the affidavit of an alleged witness to the last conversation between Terry and General Custer. General Miles refers to this affidavit in his book, “Personal Recollections of General Nelson A. Miles.” President E. Benjamin Andrews also refers to it in his book, “The United States in our Own Time.” I wrote to President Andrews, who gave Miles as his authority. I wrote to General Miles _three times_, registering the last letter, asking him to substantiate the affidavit, the existence of which was doubted by many army officers. General Miles has made no reply. I take it for granted, therefore, that _he cannot substantiate the affidavit_.