During the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 17 Canadians stood by Lieutenant-Colonel Custer’s side.

There were 17 Canadians present when Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer made his last stand in the battle at Little Bighorn River in 1876. Some had served in the Civil War, some were close friends or admirers of Custer, and some were mercenaries who just wanted a job with adventure.

William Winer Cooke, the scion of two prominent wealthy families in Upper Canada, became Custer’s right-hand man. Mark Kellogg, a Canadian-American, was a journalist who joined the expedition by chance and documented the adventure in newspaper articles sent back east. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were among the leaders of the Sioux and Cheyenne nations’ victorious warriors in this desperate attempt to save their lands from the white invasion.

Canadians with Custer tells the stories of the Canadians who joined the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army and provides new information on Custer’s fatal battle.

Mary Thomas is a journalist and broadcaster. Her broadcasting career has taken her to Bosnia, Honduras, South Korea, and Canada's High Arctic. She has taught part-time at Loyalist College and has written for newspapers, including Toronto's Telegram. Mary Thomas is the author of three previous non-fiction books. She lives in Belleville, Ontario.

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“Thomas’s painstaking analysis and in-depth research help paint vivid descriptions of the Canadians who fought with Custer. The challenges of living on the American frontier and life in the military are presented in sometimes stark detail. As the book builds to the climax of the battle at Little Big Horn, the action moves quickly.”

Country Roads magazine