The Major General George Armstrong Custer memorial tablet and the location of the “Custer Tree” is on the south side of the Center Square in Hanover, Pennsylvania, next to the War Department markers and cannon.
Text from the tablet:
Major General
George Armstrong Custer
1839 —- 1876
Killed in Battle of Little Big Horn
River, Montana, in Sioux Indian War.
Was Brig. Gen. Commander of 1st, 5th,
6th, 7th, Michigan Cavalry Regiments
and Pennington’s Battery
at the Battle of Hanover June 30, 1863.
* *
In the 1850’s, J.W. Gitt planted a silver maple near his
residence on the spot indicated by the star and circle
in the pavement below. Before and after the Battle of
Hanover, June 30, 1863, Gen. Custer tied his horse to
this tree. After the war, it became known locally as
“The Custer Maple,” and stood as a living memorial of
the historic engagement which occurred here.
Later in the 19th century, borough authorities sought
to remove the maple as a public nuisance. In the only
court case in which he ever appeared as litigant,
a case ultimately decided by the Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gitt succeeded in preventing
the destruction of this tree.
This tablet and marker were erected June 30, 1948
in honor of the gallant soldier who fought here
and in memory of the citizen who fought to
preserve that soldier’s original monument –
“The Custer Maple”
Dedicated by
Harold H. Bair Post 14, American Legion
Hanover, York County, Penna.
The star in the center of the four horseshoes show the location of the “Custer Maple”
Location of the George Armstrong Custer memorial in Hanover, Pennsylvania
The Center Square in Hanover, Pennsylvania is the location for a number of Civil War markers and monuments. (39°48’01.7″N 76°58’59.7″W)