William Wilson
William was born in 1847 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and before the age of 18, he had left Pennsylvania and joined the 4th US Cavalry, the mounted force of the US Army, in October of 1865. This was five months after the American Civil War had ended but he spent most of his enlisted time in the mid-West. William was stationed at Fort Sill, in what is now Oklahoma, and at Fort Concho, in what is now San Angelo, Texas. Fort Concho was only staffed by less than two dozen mounted soldiers and when they received word that a group of Comanche had stolen cattle, they responded and it was William's actions that would earn him his first Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
At Colorado Valley, Texas, March 28, 1872. Date of issue: April 27, 1872. In pursuit of a band of cattle thieves from New Mexico.
William and his group had ridden all night in order to catch up to the Comanche by the next morning and they were able to capture a Mexican teenager that was with the Comanche. Information was obtained that uncovered Comancheros and New Mexico smugglers that had been supplying to Comanche tribe members, which the US government had deemed those members hostile. William was later interviewed by a Washington Newspaper regarding the event:
In about two hours I had the entire outfit, burnt their saddles and camping outfit, capturing their stock and bringing in one prisoner, killing two, and wounding three, without the loss of a man or horse in my detachment. We returned to Fort Concho, where we arrived on the morning of the 13th, having ridden 120 miles in fifty-four hours.
Six months later, William was part of a larger cavalry force that had come upon a large Comanche settlement with about 280 lodges and about 800 people. Now, you have to remember that at the time, the US had deemed them a hostile threat because they had become known for waging war on the European settlers and other Native American tribes, as well as the enslavement of those captives during warfare. Obviously this podcast isn't here to discuss the rights and wrongs of history but it can be hard to look at history through the lenses of our modern glasses. With that said, William ended up taking charge of his section after his superior had been rendered incapable of continuing and they went on to kill 100 members of the tribe, burned the village, and seized 3,000 ponies. They ended up taking 130 members, whom were mostly women and children, back to Fort Concho as prisoners through the Winter. His actions that day earned him his second Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Distinguished conduct in action with Indians. Awarded: At Red River, Texas, September 29, 1872.
William was one of nine to receive the Medal of Honor for that day. He would take a break from the Army to return to Philadelphia to work as a railway superintendent and then returned to the Army in 1882. William was back with the 4th US Cavalry and was the acting superintendent of the Sequoia National Park in 1894. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November of 1895 and the following month, after shaking hands with every member of his unit, William died on the 22nd of December, 1895, shortly after noon. William Wilson was buried on the 24th of December, 1895 with military honors in the San Francisco National Cemetery: Section WS, Plot 527.
