Thomas Ward Custer (March 15, 1845 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War. A younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, he served as his aide at the Battle of Little Bighorn against the Lakota and Cheyenne in the Montana Territory. The two of them, along with their younger brother, Boston Custer, were killed in the overwhelming defeat of United States forces. Early life and Civil War Thomas Custer was born in New Rumley, Ohio, the third son of Emanuel and Marie Custer. The paternal line was of ethnic German descent. He enlisted in the Union Army, in September 1861, at age 16, and served in the early campaigns of the Civil War as a private in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He saw action at numerous battles, including Stones River, Missionary Ridge and the Atlanta Campaign. He mustered out in October 1864 as a corporal. Commissioned a second lieutenant in Company B of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, he became aide-de-camp to his brother George Armstrong Custer and accompanied him throughout the last year of the war. Custer distinguished himself by winning successively the brevets of captain, major, and lieutenant colonel, although he was barely 20 years of age when the Civil War ended. He was awarded two Medals of Honor. He was the first soldier to receive the dual honor, one of only four soldiers or sailors to receive the dual honor during the Civil War, and one of just 19 in history. Medals of Honor Both actions that earned Custer the Medal of Honor involved capturing Confederate regimental flags (2nd North Carolina Cavalry flag at Namozine Church on April 3, 1865, and again at Sailor's Creek on April 6, 1865). Such battle flags "denoted individual persons, or units, on the field of battle. The flag symbolized the honor of the regiment...In combat, with the field full of noise and smoke, the soldiers watched their regimental flag and if it advanced or retreated they followed. The names of the battles that the regiment participated in were sometimes stitched onto the flag. The loss of a regimental flag was a disgrace to the command." First award Custer earned his first Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Namozine Church, April 3, 1865. Among Union forces charging Confederate barricades, Custer had his