Henry Wills (born c. 1842, date of death unknown) 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

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 Wes ...

Formative years

Born in Gracon, Virginia in about 1842, Wills resided in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

at the time of hs enlistment in the

American Civil War

Wills served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company C of the

8th Cavalry Regiment The 8th Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army formed in 1866 during the American Indian Wars. The 8th Cavalry continued to serve under a number of designations, fighting in every other major U.S. conflict since, except Worl ...

. He was cited for providing " rvices against hostile Indians" near

Fort Selden Fort Selden was a United States Army post, occupying the area in what is now Radium Springs, New Mexico. The site was long a campground along the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. It was the site of a Confederate Army camp in 1861. The U. S. A ...

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, Ker ...

, from July 8 to July 11, 1873, and was awarded the Medal of Honor two years later, on August 12, 1875.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Near Fort Selden, N. Mex., 8-July 11, 1873. Entered service at. Pennsylvania. Birth: Gracon, Pa. Date of issue: August 12, 1875. Citation:

Services against hostile Indians.

References

: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Henry 1840s births Year of death missing American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from Virginia United States Army soldiers American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor

Formative years

American Civil War

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References