Francis Oliver (Medal of Honor)

Francis Oliver (1832 – July 28, 1880) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 1st U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars. He was one of thirty-two men received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against the Apache Indians in the Chiricahua Mountains, later known as the "Campaign of the Rocky Mesa", on October 20, 1869.

Francis Oliver
Born1832
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
DiedJuly 28, 1880(1880-07-28) (aged 48)
Lewiston, Idaho
Place of burial
Normal Hill Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of servicec. 1869–1870
RankFirst Sergeant
Unit1st U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Apache Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Francis Oliver was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832. Enlisting in the U.S. Army at Fort Fillmore, New Mexico, he was assigned to frontier duty with the 1st U.S. Cavalry and eventually reached the rank of first sergeant. Oliver saw action against the Apache in the Arizona Territory during the late 1860s, most notably, during the "Campaign of the Rocky Mesa" in late 1869. He was among the members of the 1st and 8th Cavalry, under the commands of Lieutenant William H. Winters and Captain Reuben F. Bernard, who pursued an Apache raiding party led by Cochise that had massacred a stage coach en route to Tucson and attacked a group of cowboys in the Sulphur Springs Valley on October 5, 1868. The cavalry detachment pursued the Apache to Cochise's stronghold in the Chiricahua Mountains where they did battle on October 20, 1869. Oliver led a group of troopers during the fight and was cited for bravery in action. He was among the 32 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor on February 14, 1870.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Oliver died in Lewiston, Idaho on July 28, 1880, and buried in Normal Hill Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry Place and date: At Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz., 20 October 1869. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Baltimore, Md. Date of issue: 14 February 1870.

Citation:

Bravery in action.[10]

See also

References
  1. Beyer, Walter F. and Oscar Frederick Keydel, ed. Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations. Vol. 2. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company, 1906. (pg. 553)
  2. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 307)
  3. Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. (pg. ) ISBN 0-939526-19-0
  4. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  5. O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Barbed Wire Press, 1991. (pg. 26, 45) ISBN 0-935269-07-X
  6. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 141) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  7. Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2007. ISBN 0-7864-2936-4
  8. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Francis Oliver". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  9. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: Francis Oliver". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  10. "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

Further reading
  • Konstantin, Phil. This Day in North American Indian History: Important Dates in the History of North America's Native Peoples for Every Calendar Day. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 0-306-81170-7
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