Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, Sergeant Zachariah Woodall received the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 12, 1874 at Washita River, Texas during the Indian Campaigns. At the time he was serving with Company I, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Woodall was about 24 years old.
5 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on November 7, 1874. He later rose to the rank of Ordnance Sergeant.
Woodall was born in 1850 in Alexandria, Alexandria County, Virginia. His Medal of Honor is credited to Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Woodall died on September 12, 1899 in Havana, Cuba, at the age of about 49. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Records also list him as Woodall, Zachery T..
Woodall is one of 426 Medal of Honor recipients from the Indian Campaigns and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.
Official Medal of Honor citation
While in command of five men and carrying dispatches, was attacked by 125 Indians, whom he with his command fought throughout the day, he being severely wounded.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Wounds and injuries
What the citation records about his wounds:
While in command of five men and carrying dispatches, was attacked by 125 Indians, whom he with his command fought throughout the day, he being severely wounded.
- Age at death: about 49
- Resting place: Arlington National Cemetery
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War.
Places
- Born: Alexandria — map
- Died: San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress — map
- Buried: Arlington National Cemetery — map
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →
Timeline
- 1850Born in Alexandria, Alexandria County, Virginia
- September 12, 1874Act of valor — Washita River, TexasAge about 24. Company I, 6th U.S. Cavalry
- November 7, 1874Medal of Honor presented
- September 12, 1899Died in Havana, CubaAge about 49.
- Resting placeArlington National CemeteryArlington, Virginia
Biography
Zachariah T. Woodall (September 1849 – September 12, 1899) was a soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the Red River War, and later in the Spanish–American War. He was one of six men who received the Medal of Honor who, while in command of an 8-man courier detail, engaged in a running battle with a hostile force of 125 Indians at the Washita River in Texas during the Battle of the Upper Washita on September 12, 1874.
From the Wikipedia article “Zachariah T. Woodall”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
