Veteran in crisis? Dial 988 then press 1 · Text 838255 Next observance: Navy Birthday · October 13
Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Captain · U.S. Army

M. R. William Grebe

Captain M. R. William Grebe, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on August 31, 1864 in Jonesboro, Georgia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War August 31, 1864Born in Germany

Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Captain M. R. William Grebe received the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 31, 1864 in Jonesboro, Georgia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company F, 4th Missouri Cavalry. Grebe was 26 years old.

The medal was presented on February 24, 1899, 34 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Major.

Grebe was born on August 4, 1838 in Hildesheim, Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri. Grebe died on December 24, 1916 in Leavenworth, Kansas, at the age of 78. He is buried at Mount St. Mary's Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

Grebe is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 78 credited to Missouri.

Official Medal of Honor citation

While acting as aide and carrying orders across a most dangerous part of the battlefield, being hindered by a Confederate advance, seized a rifle, took a place in the ranks and was conspicuous in repulsing the enemy.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Hildesheim — map
  • Died: Bonner Springs — map
  • Buried: Mount Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Missouri →

Timeline

  1. August 4, 1838
    Born in Hildesheim, Germany
  2. August 31, 1864
    Act of valor — Jonesboro, Georgia
    Age 26. Company F, 4th Missouri Cavalry
  3. February 24, 1899
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. December 24, 1916
    Died in Leavenworth, Kansas
    Age 78.
  5. Resting place
    Mount St. Mary's Cemetery
    Kansas City, Missouri

Biography

M. R. William Grebe (August 4, 1838 – December 24, 1916) was a military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born in Germany, he was living in St. Louis, Missouri, at the outbreak of war, and enlisted in the 4th Missouri Cavalry and later attained the rank of Major. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Jonesboro, Georgia, on August 31, 1864. Grebe corresponded with and received letters back from Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. He died in Kansas in 1916.

From the Wikipedia article “M. R. William Grebe”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

More Civil War recipients from Missouri

William Macky Wherry First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861 LH Louis T. Hunt Private · Army Civil War · 1863 CD Charles H. Depuy First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 HH Henry A. Hammel Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 JW John W. Wagner Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 William Wallace McCammon First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862
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.