Frank D Baldwin
Frank was born in Manchester, Michigan on the 26th of June, 1842 and joined the US Army at the beginning of the American Civil War. He was first assigned to the Michigan Horse Guards as a Second Lieutenant and then he was assigned to the 19th Michigan Infantry as a First Lieutenant and served in all of the regiment's battles from 1862 to 1865. Frank was promoted to Captain on the 23rd of January, 1864, and it was his actions six months later at the Battle of Peachtree Creek, as part of the Atlanta Campaign, that would earn him his first Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Led his company in a countercharge at Peach Tree Creek, Ga., 20 July 1864, under a galling fire ahead of his own men, and singly entered the enemy's line, capturing and bringing back 2 commissioned officers, fully armed, besides a guidon of a Georgia regiment.
At the end of the war, Frank was mustered out of service and he attended Hillsdale College in Michigan until the reorganization of the regular Army. He joined up again and started over as a Second Lieutenant with the 19th US Regular Infantry. Frank would be assigned to the 5th US Infantry as a First Lieutenant and went on to serve with scouts during the campaigns against Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. It was his actions in Texas on the 8th of November, 1874 that would earn him his second Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Rescued, with 2 companies, 2 white girls by a voluntary attack upon Indians whose superior numbers and strong position would have warranted delay for reinforcements, but which delay would have permitted the Indians to escape and kill their captives.
Two years later, Frank's actions earned him a brevet promotion to Captain and it wasn't until the 3rd of December 1891, twenty-seven years after his actions in Georgia, that he would receive his first Medal of Honor. Three years later, he received his second award on the 27th of November, 1894, as a Major. Frank went on to serve in the Spanish-American War and was promoted to Brigadier General a few years before retiring on the 26th of June, 1906. Retirement apparently wasn't enough for Frank because when World War 1 began, he once again decided to serve but this time as the Adjutant General of the Colorado National Guard until his second retirement in 1919 as a Major General, with over forty-four years of service.
Frank had retired to Denver, Colorado, with his wife Alice and at the age of 80, he died on the 22nd of April, 1923. Alice compiled and edited his memoirs in 1929 before her passing in 1930, and Frank Dwight Baldwin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery: Section 3, Site 1894. Alice is buried with him.
