Few names in American history are as recognizable as George Armstrong Custer. His fame, or infamy, all but overshadows everyone in his circle of family, friends, and enemies. Among those often overlooked is his younger brother, Thomas Ward Custer. In this biography - the first to document the life of Tom Custer - Carl F. Day reveals the public and private life of this notable American soldier. Born in 1845, Tom Custer enlisted in the Union Army in 1861. He saw action in Kentucky and Tennessee before being transferred to his brother George's command in Virginia. At the end of the war he received the Medal of Honor twice - the first man in American history and the only Federal soldier in the Civil War to do so. He went on to participate in the Battle of the Washita, Stanley's Yellowstone Expedition, the Black Hills expedition, and, of course, the final march to the Little Bighorn, where along with his brother George he met his death in 1876. Tom Custer was very much his own man. His private life was not entirely happy. He never married, although he spent his life searching for a suitable female companion. His public service, however, earned him the status of an American hero.