Award 1 · Medal of Honor — First Award
April 2, 1865
Willicomack (Namozine Church), Virginia, USA
- Rank at action
- Second Lieutenant
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
- Unit or command
- Company B, 6th Michigan Cavalry
The Citation
Sources ↓First Award: Capture of flag on 2 April 1865.
Preserved earlier transcription
Capture of flag on 10 May 1863.
SECOND AWARD
Place and date: At Sailor Creek , Va, April 1865. Date of issue: 26 May 1865. Citation: 2d Lt. Custer leaped his horse over the enemy's works and captured 2 stands of colors, having his horse shot from under him and receiving a severe wound.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Thomas Ward Custer — Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient profile (Medal of Honor — First Award) ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-09-02
current identity, service, action metadata, award multiplicity, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-003496
- Transcription status
- Current-profile multi-award transcription
- Last source check
- 2026-09-02
- Entered service at
- Monroe, Mich.
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 6dfbee2e6f5c0322dc3ffa176cc6ff1574192145d1c72dcae63ec75ff08b86ed
Legacy combined-row transcription preserved; separately documented current awards transcribed as distinct canonical award records.
Army Awards and Decorations Branch correction, as documented by the Medal of Honor Historical Society, supports April 2 and April 6, 1865. Current reference profiles are preserved as two awards; the historical May 10, 1863 and April 3 variants remain attributed evidence.