Captain Louis Henry Carpenter was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions between September 1 and October 31, 1868 in Kansas and Colorado during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company H, 10th U.S. Cavalry. Carpenter was 29 years old.
The medal was presented on April 8, 1898, 29 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Brigadier General Ret..
Carpenter was born on February 11, 1839 in Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey. His Medal of Honor is credited to Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Carpenter died on January 21, 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 76. He is buried at Trinity Church Cemetery in Swedesboro, New Jersey.
Carpenter is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Was gallant and meritorious throughout the campaigns, especially in the combat of October 15 and in the forced march on September 23, 24 and 25 to the relief of Forsyth's Scouts, who were known to be in danger of annihilation by largely superior forces of Indians.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: Spanish–American War, American Civil War, American Indian Wars.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →
Timeline
- February 11, 1839Born in Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey
- September 1 - October 31, 1868Act of valor — Kansas and ColoradoAge 29. Company H, 10th U.S. Cavalry
- April 8, 1898Medal of Honor presented
- January 21, 1916Died in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAge 76.
- Resting placeTrinity Church CemeterySwedesboro, New Jersey
Biography
Louis Henry Carpenter (February 11, 1839 – January 21, 1916) was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars. He dropped out of his junior year at Dickinson College to enlist in the Union Army at the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. First serving as a private, he was commissioned as an officer the following year. During the American Civil War, he participated in at least fourteen campaigns, primarily with the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment and as regimental commander of the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry Regiment.
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