William Rufus Shafter

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William Rufus Shafter
October 16, 1835 (1835-10-16) – November 12, 1906 (aged 71)
Medal of Honor recipient
Place of birth	Galesburg, Michigan
Place of death	San Francisco County, California
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1861 - 1900
Rank	Major General
Unit	Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry
Commands held	V Corps
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Ball's Bluff Peninsula Campaign Battle of Fair Oaks Battle of Thompson's Station Battle of Nashville Spanish-American War Santiago Campaign battles of San Juan Hill Battle of El Caney Battle of Santiago
Awards	Medal of Honor

William Rufus Shafter (October 16, 1835 – November 12, 1906) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Shafter also played a prominent part as a major general in the Spanish-American War. Fort Shafter, Hawaii, is named for him, as well as the city of Shafter, California. He was known informally as "Pecos Bill"^[1] (unrelated to the folk legend Pecos Bill).

1 Early life
2 Spanish-American War
3 Medal of Honor citation
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References

[edit] Early life

Shafter was born in Galesburg, Michigan. He served in the Union Army's 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and took part in the Battle of Ball's Bluff and the Peninsula Campaign. He was wounded at the Battle of Fair Oaks and later received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the battle. He was captured at the Battle of Thompson's Station and spent several months in a Confederate prison. After his release, he led the 17th Infantry, a regiment of the United States Colored Troops, at the Battle of Nashville.

By the end of the war, he had been promoted to brevet brigadier general. He stayed in the regular army when the war ended. During his subsequent service in the Indian Wars, he received his nickname Pecos Bill. He led the 24th Infantry, another United States Colored Troops regiment, in campaigns against the Cheyenne, Comanche, Kickapoo and Kiowa Indians in Texas. In May 1897 he was appointed as a brigadier general.

William Rufus Shafter

[edit] Spanish-American War

When the Spanish-American War began, the United States organized a ground expedition for the island of Cuba. Shafter weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) and was not fit for the tropical conditions, but he received the appointment anyway, due to his lack of political ambitions. In May 1898 he was appointed major general in the regular army and assumed command of the V Corps and sailed for Cuba. During the Santiago Campaign he suffered from gout. He was forced to be carried around on a door because of his immense weight and his illness.

After winning the battles of San Juan Hill and El Caney, Shafter's forces laid siege to Santiago. The city surrendered on July 17, 1898, bringing an end to the war on Cuba. Sickness and disease plagued the army, and Shafter returned to the U.S. with the V Corps in September. He took command of the Department of California after returning to the U.S. and was in that position when he retired in 1900.

Shafter retired to his sixty-acre farm adjoining his daughter's ranch near Bakersfield, California. On November 12, 1906, he died at his daughter Mary's home from an intestinal obstruction complicated by pneumonia. He was buried next to his wife at the Presidio in San Francisco, California.^[2]

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

First Lieutenant, Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry. Place and Date: At Fair Oaks, Va., 31 May 1862. Entered Service At: Galesburg, Mich. Birth: Kalamazoo, Mich. Date Of Issue: 12 June 1895.

Citation:

Lt. Shafter was engaged in bridge construction and not being needed there returned with his men to engage the enemy participating in a charge across an open field that resulted in casualties to 18 of the 22 men. At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded. He remained on the field that day and stayed to fight the next day only by concealing his wounds. In order not to be sent home with the wounded he kept his wounds concealed for another 3 days until other wounded had left the area.^[3]^[4]