Thomas Ward Custer (March 15, 1845 – June 25, 1876) was a
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
officer and two-time recipient of the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
for bravery during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. He was a younger brother of
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars who today is most remembered for a disastrous military engagement known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn...
, perishing with him at Little Bighorn in the
Montana TerritoryThe Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
.
Early life and Civil War
He was born in
New Rumley, OhioNew Rumley is an unincorporated community in central Rumley Township, Harrison County, Ohio, United States. It is famous for being the birthplace of George Armstrong Custer.The Custer Memorial is located along State Route 646 on Rumley's west side...
, the third son of Emanuel and Maria Custer. He enlisted in the
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, in September 1861, at age 16, and served in the early campaigns of the Civil War as a
privateA Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank . The term dates from the Middle Ages, where privates were known as "private soldiers" who were either hired, conscripted, or feudalized into service by a nobleman forming an army...
in the
21st Ohio Volunteer InfantryThe 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Mostly an all-volunteer unit, with the exception of a few draftees, the 21st Ohio served for both ninety-day and three-year enlistments and fought exclusively in the Western Theater...
. He saw action at numerous battles, including
Stones RiverThe Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
, Missionary Ridge and the
Atlanta CampaignThe Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1864, leading to the eventual fall of Atlanta and hastening the end of the American Civil War....
. He mustered out in October 1864 as a corporal. Commissioned a second lieutenant in Company B of the
6th Michigan CavalryThe 6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was an cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade, commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer.-Service:...
, he became his brother's
aide-de-campAn aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
and accompanied him throughout the last year of the war.
Tom Custer distinguished himself by winning successively the
brevetsIn many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being brevetted...
of captain,
majorIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services.The pay grade for the rank of major...
, and
lieutenant colonelIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the rank of commander in the other uniformed services....
, although he was barely twenty years of age when the Civil War ended. He was awarded two Medals of Honor for capturing
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
regimental flags (at
Namozine ChurchThe Battle of Namozine Church was a minor engagement on April 3, 1865, in Amelia County, Virginia during the American Civil War's Appomattox Campaign.-Early stages of battle:...
on April 3, 1865, and again at
Sayler's CreekThe Battle of Sayler's Creek was fought April 6, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, in the final days of the American Civil War....
on April 6, 1865). He was one of only four soldiers or sailors to receive the dual honor during the Civil War, and one of just nineteen in history. His second citation includes,
Date of actions
Until 1948, official references for the date of actions for which Thomas Custer was awarded the Medal of Honor were listed as 2 and April 6, 1865. However, that year a US Army book on Medal of Honor citations listed the dates as May 11, 1863 and April 6, 1865. Consolidated lists of all Medal of Honor citations were published by the US Senate in 1963, 1973 and 1979 with the incorrect first date of May 11, 1863 and in 1963 and 1973 with the correct second date of April 6, 1865. The 1979 edition published the second date as April 1865 and this would seem to be why the online Army Medal of Honor citations at United States Army Center of Military History has two incorrect dates. The Civil War Army recipient that follows Thomas Custer alphabetically is Byron Cutcheon whose date of action was May 10, 1863 which may explain how the first date for Thomas Custer appeared as May 10, 1863.
Indian Wars
Following the war, Custer was appointed first lieutenant in the 7th Cavalry in 1866. He was wounded in the
WashitaThe Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle’s Cheyenne camp on the Washita River .-Background:...
campaign of the
Indian WarsIndian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between the colonial or federal government and the native people of North America....
, in 1868. He later served on Reconstruction duty in
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
and participated in the Yellowstone Expedition of 1873, where he fought in the
Battle of Honsinger BluffThe Battle of Honsinger Bluff is of historic significance in that the main combatants were units of the U.S. 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, and Native American warriors from the village of the Hunkpapa medicine man, Sitting Bull, many of whom would clash with Custer again...
, and the Black Hills Expedition of 1874. He was appointed captain in 1875 and given command of Company C of the 7th Cavalry. In 1874, at the trading post at
Standing Rock AgencyThe Standing Rock Indian Reservation is a Lakota and Dakota Indian reservation in North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. It is the sixth-largest reservation in land area in the United States and comprises all of Sioux County, North Dakota, and all of Corson County, South Dakota, plus...
, Custer participated in the arrest of the Lakota
Rain-in-the-FaceRain-in-the-Face Rain-in-the-Face Rain-in-the-Face (Lakota: Ité Omáǧažu (in Standard Lakota Orthography) (c. 1835 – September 15, 1905) was a warchief of the Lakota tribe of Native Americans. His mother was a Dakota related to the band of famous Chief Inkpaduta. He was among the Indian...
for the 1873 murder of Dr. John Honsinger.
During the 1876 Little Bighorn campaign of the Black Hills War, he served as aide-de-camp to Lt. Col. George A. Custer and died with his brother. Lt.
Henry HarringtonHenry Moore Harrington was a military officer in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who perished with George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn in the Montana Territory....
actually led Company C during the battle. Younger brother
Boston CusterBoston Custer was the youngest brother of U.S. Army General George Armstrong Custer and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Captain Thomas Custer...
also died in the fighting, as did other Custer relatives and friends. It was widely rumored that
Rain-in-the-FaceRain-in-the-Face Rain-in-the-Face Rain-in-the-Face (Lakota: Ité Omáǧažu (in Standard Lakota Orthography) (c. 1835 – September 15, 1905) was a warchief of the Lakota tribe of Native Americans. His mother was a Dakota related to the band of famous Chief Inkpaduta. He was among the Indian...
, who had escaped from captivity and was a participant at the Little Bighorn, had cut out Tom Custer's heart as revenge. This tale seems apocryphal. However, Custer's body was badly mutilated post-mortem. His remains were identified by a recognizable tattoo of his initials on his arm.
Tom Custer was buried on the battlefield, but exhumed the next year and reburied in
Fort Leavenworth National CemeteryFort Leavenworth National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army installation north of Leavenworth, Kansas. It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early as 1844. The cemetery is the resting place of eight...
. A stone memorial slab marks the place where his body was discovered and initially buried.
See also