Tom Custer: From the Same Cut of Leather As “Autie”

Born March 15, 1845, Tom Custer idolized his brother George who was six years older. He displayed striking similarities in his personality and actions. Although he gained far less notoriety, accomplished things in similar fashion. At times he even outshone his exuberant brother. They died together at the Little Bighorn. Tom was “from the same cut of leather.”

Although he did not attend West Point, Tom achieved officer’s ranks during our nation’s Civil War. Some were breveted (honorary) but some were real. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor – twice.

Civil War Enlistment

Thomas’ older brother George was graduated from West Point at the Civil War’s outset. Perhaps to emulate his brother, Thomas tried to enlist in his home town of Monroe, Michigan. Being only 16 years old, however, he was denied. Thomas then crossed the state  border, lied about his age and enlisted as a private in the 21^st Ohio Infantry.

For three years Tom served as a foot soldier. He fought at Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga, and in Sherman’s Atlanta campaign. He must have served well. He then served as escort for several noted generals including George Thomas and Ulysses s. Grant.

Tom was promoted to corporal in January, 1864 but was mustered out that fall. However, like his brother, he quickly joined the cavalry. He was appointed second lieutenant in the 6^th Michigan Cavalry on October 23, 1864. His brother George, a general by then, soon made Tom his aide-de-camp.

Family Ties

The Custers were always a close family, and nepotism would characterize George’s career. However, historian Thom Hatch asserts that George showed no favoritism despite the cavalry veterans’ questioning. He may have actually been harder on Tom, adding extra assignments despite Tom’s protests of unfairness.

During the Civil War Tom gained no official rank higher than second lieutenant. However, he earned brevets to the honorary ranks of captain, major and lieutenant colonel. Twice those brevets would accompany Medal of Honor awards.

Medal of Honor Exploits

On April 3, 1864 General Robert E. Lee tried to escape the Union siege of Petersburg and Richmond. General George Custer’s cavalry hounded them. He found the bridge destroyed at Namozine Creek, with Rebel fortifications on the opposite side. Custer ordered a detachment to attack their flank while “sappers” worked to remove fallen trees blocking the crossing.

“Custer’s Luck” favored Tom as much as George. He charged across the creek, inspiring troops to follow. When the Rebels broke and ran Tom chased them, jumping his horse over a barricade. Seizing a color bearer’s flag, he ordered nearby soldiers to surrender. He captured three officers and 11 enlisted men.

Tom marched his captives back and presented the flag to George. He had to requisition a horse to replace his, which had been killed. Major General Philip Sheridan had grown to favor George Custer (He would soon purchase the table on which Lee signed surrender papers at Appomattox Courthouse. He then presented that table to Custer’s wife.) Sheridan recommended Tom’s brevet to major and his first Medal of Honor.

Three days later George Custer found Lee’s army divided at Sayler’s Creek. He seized the chance and ordered a charge. Tom was at the forefront and again leapt his horse over a barricade. This time the retreating Rebels fired as they withdrew. Tom again spotted a standard-bearer and bore down on the flag.

As Tom approached, the Rebel fired at him point-blank. The shot entered his right cheek and exited behind the ear, knocking him backward in the saddle. With his own revolver drawn, he righted himself and shot the flag bearer. As the Rebel fell Tom grabbed his flag and raced back to show his brother.

Seeing Tom’s heavily-bleeding face, George ordered him to the rear for medical attention. Tom refused, stating he would not leave the field until the battle was finished. George then ordered him arrested and escorted back to the surgeon’s field hospital.

Accounts indicate Tom’s exuberance was like his brother’s as he galloped back brandishing his second captured flag. This time he was breveted to the rank of Lt. Colonel. He was also awarded his second Medal of Honor.

Post-Civil War Career

Tom was mustered out again in April 1866. He quickly re-enlisted. As the 7^th Cavalry Regiment was formed, Tom was appointed as a 1^st lieutenant. He served in Texas, Mississippi and South Carolina during Reconstruction, but he soon joined his brother George in Kansas during 1867-68.

Life was not glamorous at remote posts or on the plains at that time. Army enlistment was at times a desperate option for new, poor immigrants. While pay was low, gold beckoned at new strikes to the west. As a result, army discipline was difficult; drunkenness and desertion weren’t uncommon.

Demerits?

A darker mark on George’s record surrounds his ordering deserters shot. Tom may have had to oversee or carry out that order. Tom also rode with George when the older Custer went more or less AWOL to see his wife (he worried she was travelling on a wagon train under hostile attack.)

Tom’s company was part of the 1867-68 Hancock campaign against hostiles. Some Cheyenne bands made depredations against white settlers on the Kansas plains. They killed several and took a number of white women and children captive.

Many hold this assignment against both Custers; their campaign included the infamous attack on Black Kettle’s village at Washita. (The command’s scouts had followed the trail of hostile raiders to the village; they failed to realize the raiders had then moved on.) Much could be, and has been, written about it.

Tom’s displayed exuberant recklessness away from battlefields too. He was known for gambling, drinking excessively and becoming boisterous. He is said to have gotten crossways of a young town marshal named James Butler Hickock in Hays City. (Hickock, also a scout, was a friend of the Custers; Libby would later describe him favorably. More on that another time.)

Tom Custer and Rain-in-the-Face

When the 7^th Cavalry escorted the 1873 Yellowstone railroad survey, two members of the party were killed by Sioux while out looking for fossils. (They had been warned not to wander off.) That winter the scout Charley Reynolds observed a “scalp dance” at Standing Rock Agency. He heard Sioux warrior Rain-in-the-Face boasting he had killed the pair. Custer sent a detachment to arrest Rain-in-the-Face.

The detachment included 1^st Lieutenant Tom Custer. Custer reportedly grabbed the unsuspecting warrior and threw him to the floor, where he was bound or shackled. Rain-in-the-Face was held in a wooden guardhouse for several months, along with a white prisoner. Eventually some sympathizer breached a wall, allowing the pair to escape.

Much folklore and speculation has occurred since. Rain-in-the-Face allegedly threatened to cut Tom Custer’s heart out and eat it. Wild tales have been told, and Longfellow even wrote a poem about it after the battle. Its reality is extremely unlikely, though, for several reasons.

The Little Bighorn

At the Little Bighorn Tom Custer’s body was found near his brother’s. It was badly mutilated, and the head smashed flat. The mutilations were not fully described by eye witnesses, but they were apparently worse than others on the field. In fact, the body was identifiable only by tattoos. Captain Benteen, who was in charge of the burials, stated Custer’s heart had not been cut out.

It is unlikely that the Indians at the Little Bighorn recognized George Custer — or even realized he was there that day. It’s possible they actually recognized Tom Custer, and perhaps that explains why he was more badly mutilated than others. (Again, more to come on this.)

In the end, Tom Custer soldiered with his older brother and ultimately died with him. Just how he died, and who killed him, will probably never be known. Why he received such brutal mutilation compared to others will likely never be known either. Such are the mysteries surrounding the Little Bighorn.