George Ferrari Explained
Corporal George Ferrari (c. 1845 – 1895?) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry during the Apache Wars. He was one of three men who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against the Apache Indians at Red Creek in the Arizona Territory on September 23, 1869. He was the first and only Italian-American to receive the award during the thirty-year period of the Indian Wars.
Biography
George Ferrari was born in New York City, New York in about 1845. He later joined the U.S. Army in Cleveland, Ohio and was assigned to Company D of the 8th U.S. Cavalry. Ferrari was sent to the Arizona Territory where he took part in the Apache Wars in the late-1860s. On September 23, 1869, he and two other cavalry troopers, Private John Walker and Sergeant Charles Harris,[2] were cited for "gallantry in action" against the Apache at Red Creek and received the Medal of Honor.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Although he was the first and only Italian-American ever to receive the MOH during the Indian Wars,[8] [9] [10] [11] little of his life is known prior to and after leaving the military.[12]
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company D, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Red Creek, Ariz., September 23, 1869. Entered service at: Montgomery County, Ohio. Birth: New York, N.Y. Date of issue: November 23, 1869.
- Citation:
See also
Further reading
- Konstantin, Phil. This Day in North American Indian History: Important Dates in the History of North America's Native Peoples for Every Calendar Day. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002.
Notes and References
- https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/research/MOH/MOH_IWC_Burial.pdf Burials of Indian War Campaigns Medal of Honor Recipients Affiliated with New York
- Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (p. 140)
- Beyer, Walter F. and Oscar Frederick Keydel, ed. Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations. Vol. 2. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company, 1906. (p. 552)
- Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863–1973, 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1973. (p. 289)
- Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. (p. 325)
- Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (p. 396)
- O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Barbed Wire Press, 1991. (p. 26)
- "Proud Heritage". The American Legion. Vol. 131, No. 6. (December 1991): (p. 161)
- LaGumina, Salvatore John. The Italian American experience: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2000. (p. 365)
- Web site: MOH Citation for George Ferrari . June 29, 2010 . Sterner, C. Douglas . 1999 . MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns . HomeofHeroes.com .
- Web site: Military Times Hall of Valor: George Ferrari. June 29, 2010 . Army Times Publishing Company . Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor . MilitaryTimes.com .
- Schiavo, Giovanni. Four Centuries of Italian-American History. 4th ed. Staten Island, New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1992. (p. 320)
