John Thompson (soldier, born 1842) explained

John Thompson
Birth Date:c. 1842
Death Date:?
Birth Place:Glasgow, Scotland
Placeofburial Label:Place of burial
Allegiance:United States
Branch:United States Army
Serviceyears:c. 1868 - 1869
Rank:Sergeant
Unit:1st U.S. Cavalry
Battles:Indian Wars
Apache Wars
Awards:Medal of Honor

Sergeant John Thompson (c. 1842  - unknown) was a Scottish-born soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 1st U.S. Cavalry during the Apache Wars. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against a hostile band of Apache Indians at the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona on October 20, 1869.

Biography

John Thompson was born in Glasgow, Scotland in about 1842. He later emigrated to the United States and enlisted as a private in the United States Army in Chicago, Illinois. A member of the 1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment, Thompson saw action during the Apache Wars in the Arizona Territory and eventually reached the rank of sergeant. On October 20, 1869, he distinguished himself in battle against the Apache in the Chiricahua Mountains and received the Medal of Honor for "bravery in action with Indians".[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz., 20 October 1869. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Scotland. Date of issue: 14 February 1870.

Citation:

Bravery in action with Indians.[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1973, 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1973.
  2. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (pg. 400)
  3. 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. (pg. 26)
  4. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 141)
  5. Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2007.
  6. Web site: MOH Citation for John Thompson . June 30, 2010 . Sterner, C. Douglas . 1999 . MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns . HomeofHeroes.com .
  7. Web site: Military Times Hall of Valor: John Thompson. June 30, 2010 . Army Times Publishing Company . Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor . MilitaryTimes.com .
  8. Web site: June 29, 2009 . Medal of Honor recipients . Indian War Campaigns . . June 8, 2009 . August 3, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130803232814/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/indianwars.html . dead .