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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

William H. Smith

Private William H. Smith, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on October 20, 1869 in Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona Territory during the Indian Campaigns.

Indian Campaigns October 20, 1869

Private William H. Smith, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on October 20, 1869 in Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona Territory during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry. Smith was about 22 years old.

32 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on February 14, 1870. Acknowledged receipt of Medal of Honor on February 22, 1870. He later rose to the rank of Sergeant.

Smith was born in 1847 in Lapeer, Lapeer County, Michigan. His Medal of Honor is credited to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. Smith died on August 5, 1877, at the age of about 30. He is buried at Prairie View Cemetery in Grangeville, Idaho. His medal is held by National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

Smith is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 256 credited to Ohio.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Gallantry in action.

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

Timeline

  1. 1847
    Born in Lapeer, Lapeer County, Michigan
  2. October 20, 1869
    Act of valor — Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona Territory
    Age about 22. Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry
  3. February 14, 1870
    Medal of Honor presented
    Acknowledged receipt of Medal of Honor on February 22, 1870.
  4. August 5, 1877
    Died
    Age about 30.
  5. Resting place
    Prairie View Cemetery
    Grangeville, Idaho

Also honored for actions on October 20, 1869

JC John Carr Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 CD Charles H. Dickens Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 JD John L. Donahue Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 EE Edwin L. Elwood Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 JG John Georgian Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 MH Mosher A. Harding Blacksmith · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 FJ Frederick Jarvis Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 BK Bartholomew T. Keenan Trumpeter · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 CK Charles Kelley Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 NM Nicholas Meaher Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 EM Edward Murphy Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869 FO Francis Oliver First Sergeant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869

See all 33 recipients for October 20, 1869 →

More Indian Campaigns recipients from Ohio

Isaiah Mays Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1889 MF Mosheim Feaster Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1890 Matthias Walter Day Second Lieutenant · Army Indian Campaigns · 1879 JH John Harrington Private · Army Indian Campaigns · 1874 JG John J. Given Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1870 ✦ GF George Ferrari Corporal · Army Indian Campaigns · 1869
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.