John Thompson (Medal of Honor)

John Thompson
Born 1842
Glasgow, Scotland
Died ?
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service c. 1868–1869
Rank Sergeant
Unit 1st U.S. Cavalry
Battles/wars Indian Wars
Apache Wars
Awards Medal of Honor

Sergeant John Thompson (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 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

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) ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  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) ISBN 0-935269-07-X
  4. ↑ Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 141) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  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. ISBN 0-7864-2936-4
  6. ↑ Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for John Thompson". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  7. ↑ Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: John Thompson". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

External links