Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Captain Charles Albert Varnum received the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 30, 1890 at White Clay Creek, South Dakota during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Varnum was 41 years old.
3 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on September 22, 1897, 6 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Colonel.
Varnum was born on June 21, 1849 in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Varnum died on February 26, 1936, at the age of 86. He is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery in San Francisco, California. His medal is held by Roswell Museum & Art Center (1896 & 1904 designs), Roswell, NM.
Varnum is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 24 credited to Florida.
Official Medal of Honor citation
While executing an order to withdraw, seeing that a continuance of the movement would expose another troop of his regiment to being cut off and surrounded, he disregarded orders to retire, placed himself in front of his men, led a charge upon the advancing Indians, regained a commanding position that had just been vacated, and thus insured a safe withdrawal of both detachments without further loss.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Life beyond the battlefield
- Occupations: academic
- Education: United States Military Academy
Source: Wikidata.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Florida →
Timeline
- June 21, 1849Born in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York
- December 30, 1890Act of valor — White Clay Creek, South DakotaAge 41. Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry
- September 22, 1897Medal of Honor presented
- February 26, 1936DiedAge 86.
- Resting placeSan Francisco National CemeterySan Francisco, California
Biography
Charles Albert Varnum (June 21, 1849 – February 26, 1936) was a career United States Army officer. He was most noted as the commander of the scouts for George Armstrong Custer in the Little Bighorn Campaign (of which he was the last of the surviving officers to die of natural causes) during the Great Sioux War, as well as receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions in a conflict at Drexel Mission following the Wounded Knee Massacre.
From the Wikipedia article “Charles Varnum”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
