Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1980212 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Tom Custer: It's about time.
Let me begin by saying I wrote the book-so I am a little biased. This started as my Master's thesis in history and I found it impossible to stop writing. It was very difficult and took a great deal of time-some ten years. I met a great many wonderful people and had a great time. I tried to tell a story of a man with many faults, but whose love of family overcame his weaknesses. It is a tale of courage, love, and sadness. Sadness for a great many people whose lives were destroyed by war. Is it the greatest book of all time, no, of course not. But I am proud of it and hope that it brings enjoyment to all who read it.

Another one bit the dust
More than 200 men died in the coulees along the Little Big Horn River on June 25, 1876. One was George Armstrong Custer. Another was the only man at that time who had won two Congressional Medals of Honor, both for service in the American Civil War. That soldier was Thomas Ward Custer, the general's younger brother.
Much has been written about the general, about his youth and flamboyance during the Civil War, as well as about his controversial career in the West as an Indian fighter. In most of those stories, we learn that George wasn't the only Custer riding with the Seventh Cavalry. He had two brothers with him, both Tom and Boston, as well as some cousins and in-laws, some along more or less as tourists. Tom himself has never been written about in a book length treatment until now. The reason for that is simple enough. Although he was the first man to win two Medals of Honor, as far as history itself is concerned he was not a history maker. He was, as it were, along for the ride.
It was quite a ride, starting with his enlistment in the Army at the age of sixteen in 1861. He served for a while in the west, but was soon transferred to the east at his older brother's request. From then on, their careers were closely linked. Again at the general's request, after the Civil War ended Tom went over to the Seventh Cavalry, and ten years later he rode with it to the great Indian encampment where his life ended.
Tom was brave enough to win medals, but he was no saint. Alcohol got the best of him more than once, and he reputedly sired a boy out of wedlock. The author does a good job with the slim resources available to describe this soldier's life, but, perhaps because he was such a minor player in events and because those resources are so scarce, he has a harder time putting the flesh back on his bones (although the removal of that flesh by the victorious Sioux is spelled out in graphic detail). For those of you interested in all aspects of the Custer myth, this book offers you one more coulee to explore.