Charles A. Bessey (1848–1909) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest 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 valor. ...

, 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

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Biography

Bessey was born in

Reading, Massachusetts Reading ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 census. History Settlement and American independence Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settler ...

in 1848.usgwarchives.net
/ref> By January 13, 1877, he was serving as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in Company A of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment in the midst of the

Great Sioux War of 1876-77 The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was the ...

. On that day, Bessey and three privates were repairing a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

line between Forts Laramie and Fetterman in eastern

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when they learned that Native Americans had attacked three herders close by, near Elkhorn Creek. Bessey led his small group against the much larger Native American force and successfully rescued the herders, although he and two of his men were wounded in the process. For these actions, the four men were commended in

general order A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to the unit's situatio ...

s and, thirteen years later on May 15, 1890, Bessey was awarded the Medal of Honor. Bessey was later promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and became Chief Musician of his regiment. He retired in 1899 and died ten years later of kidney failure, probably caused by the wound he received near Elkhorn Creek. Aged 60 or 61 at his death, he was buried in Biloxi City Cemetery,

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. After his death, his Medal of Honor was held by his daughter, who displayed it in her home. A hurricane destroyed the house and the medal was thought to be lost, but was eventually found in the wreckage. The family then donated the medal to the Third Cavalry Museum at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters ...

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Medal of Honor citation

Bessey's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

While scouting with 4 men and attacked in ambush by 14 hostile Indians, held his ground, 2 of his men being wounded, and kept up the fight until himself wounded in the side, and then went to the assistance of his wounded comrades.

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessey, Charles A. 1848 births 1909 deaths United States Army non-commissioned officers American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References