First Sergeant Cornelius Cole Smith, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on January 1, 1891 at White River, South Dakota during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company K, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Smith was 21 years old.
5 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on February 4, 1891. He later rose to the rank of Colonel U.S. Army Ret..
Smith was born on April 7, 1869 in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona. His Medal of Honor is credited to Helena, Lewis & Clark County, Montana. Smith died on January 10, 1936, at the age of 66. He is buried at Evergreen Memorial Park in Riverside, California.
Smith is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 9 credited to Montana.
Official Medal of Honor citation
With four men of his troop drove off a superior force of the enemy and held his position against their repeated efforts to recapture it, and subsequently pursued them a great distance.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: World War I, Spanish–American War.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Montana →
Timeline
- April 7, 1869Born in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
- January 1, 1891Act of valor — White River, South DakotaAge 21. Company K, 6th U.S. Cavalry
- February 4, 1891Medal of Honor presented
- January 10, 1936DiedAge 66.
- Resting placeEvergreen Memorial ParkRiverside, California
Biography
Colonel Cornelius Cole Smith (April 7, 1869 – January 10, 1936) was an American officer in the U.S. Army who served with the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the Sioux Wars. On January 1, 1891, he and four other cavalry troopers successfully defended a U.S. Army supply train from a force of 300 Sioux warriors at the White River in South Dakota, for which he received the Medal of Honor. He was the last man to receive the award in battle against the Sioux, and in a major Indian war. In his later career, Smith served as an officer during the Spanish–American War and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection under Generals Leonard Wood and John J. Pershing.
From the Wikipedia article “Cornelius C. Smith”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
