First Lieutenant William Rufus Shafter was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 31, 1862 in Fair Oaks, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry. Shafter was 26 years old.
3 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on June 12, 1895, 33 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Major General U.S. Army.
Shafter was born on October 16, 1835 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. His Medal of Honor is credited to Galesburg, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Shafter died on November 12, 1906 in Bakersfield, California, at the age of 71. He is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery in San Francisco, California. His medal is held by National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Shafter is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 112 credited to Michigan.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Lt. Shafter was engaged in bridge construction and not being needed there returned with his men to engage the enemy participating in a charge across an open field that resulted in casualties to 18 of the 22 men. At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded. He remained on the field that day and stayed to fight the next day only by concealing his wounds. In order not to be sent home with the wounded he kept his wounds concealed for another three days until other wounded had left the area.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Wounds and injuries
What the citation records about his wounds:
At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded.
- Age at death: 71
- Resting place: San Francisco National Cemetery
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War, Spanish–American War.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Michigan →
Timeline
- October 16, 1835Born in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan
- May 31, 1862Act of valor — Fair Oaks, VirginiaAge 26. Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry
- June 12, 1895Medal of Honor presented
- November 12, 1906Died in Bakersfield, CaliforniaAge 71.
- Resting placeSan Francisco National CemeterySan Francisco, California
Biography
William Rufus Shafter (October 16, 1835 – November 12, 1906) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received US highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Fair Oaks. Shafter also played a prominent part as a major general in the Spanish–American War. Fort Shafter, Hawaii, is named for him, as well as the city of Shafter, California and the ghost town of Shafter, Texas. He was nicknamed "Pecos Bill", inspiration for the fictional character of the same name in tall tales.
From the Wikipedia article “William Rufus Shafter”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
