Edwin L. Elwood

Edwin L. Elwood (1847 – September 13, 1907) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars. He took part in campaigns against Cochise and the Apache Indians in the Arizona Territory in the late-1860s and was one of thirty-two men received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the fighting in the Chiricahua Mountains, known as the "Campaign of the Rocky Mesa", on October 20, 1869.

Edwin L. Elwood
Born1847
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
DiedSeptember 13, 1907(1907-09-13) (aged 60)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
Place of burial
Santa Fe National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of servicec. 1868–1870
RankPrivate
Unit8th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Apache Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Edwin L. Elwood was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1847.[1][2][3] He later moved to San Jose, California, where he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was sent to the Arizona Territory for frontier duty with the 8th U.S. Cavalry and took part in the Apache Wars. Elwood was among the soldiers under Lieutenant William H. Winters who pursued Cochise and the Apache Indians following the massacre of stage coach passengers en route to Tucson, and an attack on a group of cowboys in the Sulphur Springs Valley, on October 5, 1868. The cavalrymen finally confronted Cochise at his stronghold in the Chiricahua Mountains, in what would become known as the "Campaign of the Rocky Mesa", on October 20, 1869. Elwood was shot in the right side of his chest while battling the Apaches but recovered from his injuries.[4] He was cited for "gallantry in action" in this engagement and was among the 32 members of the 1st and 8th U.S. Cavalry who received the Medal of Honor on February 14, 1870.[2][3][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Elwood died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on September 13, 1907, at the age of 60. He was interred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.[1][12]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company G, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz., October 20, 1869. Entered service at: California. Birth: St. Louis, Mo. Date of issue: February 14, 1870.

Citation:

Gallantry in action.[13]

See also

References
  1. Melzer, Richard. Buried Treasures: Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 2007. (pg. 282) ISBN 0-86534-531-7
  2. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Edwin Elwood". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  3. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: Edwin L. Elwood". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  4. McChristian, Douglas C. Fort Bowie, Arizona: Combat Post of the Southwest, 1858-1894. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. ISBN 0-8061-3781-9
  5. 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. 552)
  6. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1973, 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1973. (pg. 288)
  7. Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. (pg. 325) ISBN 0-939526-19-0
  8. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (pg. 267, 396) ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  9. 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
  10. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 141) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  11. 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. ) ISBN 0-7864-2936-4
  12. Nava, Margaret M. Remembering: A Guide to New Mexico Cemeteries, Monuments and Memorials. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 2006. (pg. 110) ISBN 0-86534-486-8
  13. "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

Further reading
  • Konstantin, Phil. This Day in North American Indian History: Important Dates in the History of North America's Native Peoples for Every Calendar Day. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 0-306-81170-7
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