Brent Woods (1855 – March 31, 1906) was an African American

Buffalo Soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

—for his actions in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

Biography

Woods was born a slave in

Pulaski County, Kentucky Pulaski County is a county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,034. Its county seat is Somerset. The county was founded in December 1798 from land given by Lincoln and Green Counties and named for ...

and freed at the age of 8. He joined the US Army from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in October 1873 at the age of 18 (although initially claiming to be 23) and was assigned to Company B of the

9th Cavalry Regiment The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It is not related to the 9th Kansas Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was pa ...

. On August 19, 1881, he participated in a battle at Gavilan Canyon in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

against Chief Nana and a small band of Apaches. After the deaths of six men in his cavalry, including his lieutenant, Woods took command and fought to save the lives of many of his comrades. Thirteen years later, on July 12, 1894, Sergeant Woods was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the engagement. He retired from the army in November 1902 and returned to

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. Woods died in 1906 at the age of 50 or 51 and was buried in an unmarked grave at the First Baptist Church of Somerset. Knowledge of Sergeant Woods' achievements remained largely obscured until 1982 when Lorraine Smith of Somerset started a campaign to mark Woods' grave. On June 20, 1984, the US Army exhumed Woods' remains and gave him a full military funeral on October 28. His grave can be found in section A, grave 930 of

Mill Springs National Cemetery Mill Springs National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the town of Nancy, eight miles (13 km) west of the city of Somerset in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs ...

Nancy, Kentucky Nancy is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community eight miles west of the city of Somerset, Kentucky, Somerset in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The ZIP Code for Nancy is 42544. On January 19, 1862, during the American Civil War, Union force ...

.Mill Springs Battlefield
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Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company B, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: New Mexico, August 19, 1881. Entered service at: Louisville, Ky. Birth: Pulaski County, Ky. Date of issue: July 12, 1894. ;Citation

Saved the lives of his comrades and citizens of the detachment.

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* American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Pulaski County, Kentucky United States Army soldiers Buffalo Soldiers 1855 births 1906 deaths American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor 19th-century American slaves {{US-army-bio-stub

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

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