Rank Corporal Awards Medal of Honor Unit 9th Cavalry Regiment Died January 1928 | Name William Wilson Battles/wars Indian Wars | |
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Born September 16, 1867
Hagerstown, Maryland ( 1867-09-16 ) | ||
Service/branch United States Army Battles and wars American Indian Wars Allegiance United States of America | ||
William Othello Wilson (September 16, 1867 – January, 1928) was a corporal in the United States Army's 9th Cavalry Regiment. He is noted for having received the Medal of Honor.
Contents
Army service
Wilson joined the Army from Saint Paul, Minnesota in August 1889. He earned the Medal of Honor on December 30, 1891 for "Bravery" in volunteering to successfully carrying a message to the Pine Ridge Indian Agency in South Dakota.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company I, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Sioux Campaign, 1890. Entered service at: St. Paul, Minn. Birth: Hagerstown, Md. Date of issue: September 17, 1891.
Citation:
Bravery.
A more detailed citation was published in General Order 100, on December 17, 1891:
December 30, 1890. Private (then Corporal) William O. Wilson, Troop I, 9th Cavalry: For gallantry in carrying a message for assistance through country occupied by the enemy, when the wagon train under escort of Captain Loud was attacked by hostile Sioux Indians, near the Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota.
Later life and death
After being discharged in 1893, Wilson returned to civilian life in Maryland, working as an upholsterer, a cook, and a carpenter; he married and had seven children. Wilson died on January 18, 1928 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Washington County, Maryland.
Legacy
In February 2003, Wilson's only surviving daughter, Anna V. Jones, donated her father's medal to the then new Maryland African American Museum Corporation.