GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER.



    During this winter, Custer received, for his brilliant services
in the campaign, the brevet of Major-General. Merritt was
similarly decorated, and Colonels Gibbs of the Regular brigade,
and Devin, of the Second brigade, First division, were made
brigadiers.  Both were comparatively elderly men, and deserved
their promotion. Colonel IDevin had been the senior colonels
of the cavalry corps, and in command of his brigade, as early
as January, 1863.   General Gibbs was an old regular cavalry
officer of many years experience. At -the close of the war,
Devin was brevetted major-general in the regular army, and
made lieutenant-colonel of the Eighth cavalry, at the sampe
time that Custer and Merritt received the same rank in the
Seventh   and  Tenth. cavalry respectively.    Merritt is   now
Colonel of the Fifth Cavalry.   He graduated from West Point
the year before Custer.   Devin's regirnen t was the Sixth New
York cavalry, to which he was promoted in November, 1861, hav-
ing before been captain in the First New York Militia cavalry.


  NOTE. At the close of this campaign, the flags captured by the cavalry
were sent to Washington din Custer's charge, carried by the different men
who had taken them. Custer, on his arrival in Washington, where Mrs.
Custer had been during the campaign, hurried away to find her. By a
curious instance of cross purposes, Mrs. Custer went to the War Depart-
ment on purpose to see him, hearing of his coming with the flags. She was
kindly received by Mr. Stanton. but was dreadfully frightened when she
found herself among strangers and that her husband was not there. To add
to her confusion, in came the sergeants with the captured flags, and a great
deal of speechifying followed, ending by Mr. Stanton publicly introducing
her to the brave fellows as the wife of their beloved general. While much
embarrassed, the dear little lady acquitted herself splendidly, and said
some-
thing appropriate to each. During the winter she was able to remain with
the general at his headquarters near Winchester.



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