William G. Austin

William G. Austin
Born January 6, 1868(1868-01-06)
Galveston, Texas, United States
Died July 15, 1929(1929-07-15) (aged 61)
Los Altos, California, United States
Place of burial Cremated
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service c. 1880–c. 1891
Rank Colonel
Unit 7th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/wars Indian Wars
Awards Medal of Honor

William Graston (Grafton) Austin (January 6, 1868 – July 15, 1929) was an American officer in the U.S. Army who served with the 7th U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars. He was a veteran Indian fighter who fought against the Plains Indians for much of his military career. Austin received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at what was then called, the Battle of Wounded Knee, but now called the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Contents

Biography

William Graston (Grafton) Austin was born in Galveston, Texas on January 6, 1868.[2] He later moved to New York City where he enlisted in the U.S. Army.[12][13][14] He spent much of his career with the 7th U.S. Cavalry, becoming an experienced Indian fighter on the frontier, and eventually rose to the rank of colonel. He participated in numerous campaigns against the Plains Indians, including the Sioux, and was cited for bravery at the Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. On June 17, 1891, he officially received the Medal of Honor for commanding troops “while the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the enemy".[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] After his retirement from the military, Austin returned to New York and lived in the city for a few years before moving to Palo Alto, California where he died on July 15, 1929.[2] His body was cremated at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, and the ashes delivered to the Roller and Hapgood mortuary, but its final whereabouts is not known.

The MOH status of the 18 men, including Austin, who received the award at Wounded Knee was called into question during a congressional hearing by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell on July 29, 1993, who suggested that their medals should be rescinded given the controversial nature of the battle.[7]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Wounded Knee Creek, S. Dak., 29 December 1890. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Galveston, Tex. Date of issue: 27 June 1891.

Citation:

While the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the enemy.[15]

See also

Biography portal
United States Army portal

References

  1. ^ a b 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. (pg. 326)
  2. ^ a b c d "Col. William G. Austin.; Former Army Officer and Indian Fighter Dies in California". New York Times. July 18, 1929. 
  3. ^ a b Chandler, Melbourne C. Of Garry Owen in Glory: The History of the Seventh United States Cavalry Regiment. Annandale, Virginia: The Turnpike Press, 1960. (pg. 398)
  4. ^ a b Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 1024)
  5. ^ a b Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (pg. 280) ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  6. ^ a b 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. 35) ISBN 0-935-26907-X
  7. ^ a b c Gonzalez, Mario and Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999. (pg. 392) ISBN 0-252-06669-3
  8. ^ a b LaDuke, Winona. Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming. Cambridge, Massachusetts: South End Press, 2005. (pg. 265) ISBN 0-89608-712-3
  9. ^ a b Johansen, Bruce E. The Native Peoples of North America: A History. Vol. 2. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2006. (pg. 289) ISBN 0-8135-3899-8
  10. ^ a b Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 292) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  11. ^ a b 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. (pg. 155) ISBN 0-7864-2936-4
  12. ^ a b c Art Leatherwood: William G. Austin from the Handbook of Texas Online (May 30, 2010). Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  13. ^ a b c Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for William Austin". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1865_ind/austin.html. 
  14. ^ a b c Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: William Grafton Austin". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3272. 
  15. ^ "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/indianwars.html. Retrieved June 29, 2009. 

Further reading

External links