Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Sergeant William Grafton Austin received the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 29, 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Austin was 22 years old.
18 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on June 27, 1891.
Austin was born on January 6, 1868 in Galveston, Galveston County, Texas. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Austin died on July 15, 1929 in Los Altos, California, at the age of 61. He is buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.
Austin is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
While the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the enemy.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Indian Wars.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- January 6, 1868Born in Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
- December 29, 1890Act of valor — Wounded Knee Creek, South DakotaAge 22. Company E, 7th U.S. Cavalry
- June 27, 1891Medal of Honor presented
- July 15, 1929Died in Los Altos, CaliforniaAge 61.
- Resting placeCypress Lawn CemeteryColma, California
Biography
William Grafton Austin (January 6, 1868 – July 15, 1929) was an American enlisted man and officer in the U.S. Army who served with the 7th Cavalry Regiment during the Indian Wars. Austin received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary gallantry at the Battle of Wounded Knee, but now called the Wounded Knee Massacre, on December 29, 1890.
From the Wikipedia article “William G. Austin”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
