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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Herman Ziegner

Private Herman Ziegner, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on December 29, 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek and White Clay Creek, South Dakota during the Indian Campaigns.

Indian Campaigns December 29, 1890Born in Germany

Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Private Herman Ziegner received the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 29, 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek and White Clay Creek, South Dakota during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Ziegner was about 26 years old.

18 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on June 23, 1891.

Ziegner was born in 1864 in Aploda, Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland. Ziegner died on September 9, 1898 in New York, at the age of about 34. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York.

Ziegner is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 85 credited to Maryland.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Conspicuous bravery.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War.

Places

  • Born: Weimar — map
  • Died: Brooklyn — map
  • Buried: Calvary Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Maryland →

Timeline

  1. 1864
    Born in Aploda, Germany
  2. December 29, 1890
    Act of valor — Wounded Knee Creek and White Clay Creek, South Dakota
    Age about 26. Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry
  3. June 23, 1891
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. September 9, 1898
    Died in New York
    Age about 34.
  5. Resting place
    Calvary Cemetery
    Woodside, New York

Biography

Herman or Hermann Ziegner (1864 – September 9, 1898) was a German-American soldier who served in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars and the Spanish–American War. In 1891, he was one of twenty men to receive the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wounded Knee., now called the Wounded Knee Massacre. He was also a non-commissioned officer of 71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, taking part in the Santiago campaign and the charge up San Juan Hill, and was one of many regimental members who died from malnourishment and malaria prior to and shortly after returning to the United States.

From the Wikipedia article “Hermann Ziegner”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on December 29, 1890

WA William Grafton Austin Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 JC John E. Clancy Musician · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 MF Mosheim Feaster Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 Ernest Albert Garlington First Lieutenant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 John Channing Gresham First Lieutenant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 MH Mathew H. Hamilton Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 JH Joshua B. Hartzog Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 HH Harry Leroy Hawthorne Second Lieutenant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 MH Marvin C. Hillock Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 George Hobday Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 BJ Bernhard Jetter Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 GL George Lloyd Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890

See all 19 recipients for December 29, 1890 →

More Indian Campaigns recipients from Maryland

Marion Perry Maus First Lieutenant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1886 LH Lehmann Hinemann Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1872 WF William Foster Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1872 FD Frederick Deetline Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1876 Clinton Greaves Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1877 AW Augustus Walley Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1881
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.