First Sergeant Jacob Trautman (1840 – November 7, 1898) was a German-born soldier in the

U.S. 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, cl ...

. His service included an enlistment with a Pennsylvania cavalry regiment during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and with the

7th Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Ireland, Irish air "Garryowen (air), Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated i ...

during 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 ...

. He was one of twenty men who received 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 at the Battle of Wounded Knee, now called the Wounded Knee Massacre, and afterward.

Biography

Jacob Trautman was born in Germany, in 1840 to Jacob and Margaret Trautman."Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ7K-V3P : 8 December 2014), Jacob Trautman, 07 Nov 1898; citing v 92 p 201, Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh; FHL microfilm 505,863. He emigrated to the United States. Trautman made a claim for a pension to the pensions office of the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

based on service with Company E and Company L, Pennsylvania Cavalry and with Troop I, 7th Cavalry Regiment"United States Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDTK-71H : 4 December 2014), Jacob Trautman, ; citing NARA microfilm publication M686 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,528,013. Trautman enlisted in the

5th Pennsylvania Cavalry The 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry (65th Volunteers / "Cameron Dragoons") was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry was organized at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning ...

as a private and was discharged as a sergeant. Trautman mustered into Company L, 5th Cavalry, Pennsylvania Volunteers on August 9, 1861; he was promoted to corporal and later to sergeant; and was transferred to Company E on June 5, 1865. In Company E, Trautman served as a sergeant and mustered out with the company on August 7, 1865; his individual record is annotated "Vet." Trautman enlisted with I Troop, 7th Cavalry Regiment on January 4, 1876, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania. This enlistment was his second but there is no identification of the nature of his first term (Civil War or some service between 1865 and 1876). He was discharged on January 3, 1881, at Fort Totten,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

as a first sergeant."United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDR-37RV : 24 May 2014), Jacob Traulman, 04 Jan 1876; citing p. 36, volume 076, Pittsburgh, , Pennsylvania, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 40; FHL microfilm 350,346. Trautman re-enlisted immediately on January 4, 1881, at Fort Totten and served until January 3, 1886, when he was discharged at

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the N ...

, Dakota Territory as a first sergeant."United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDR-7FDQ : 24 May 2014), Jacob Trautmann, 04 Jan 1881; citing p. 19, volume 082, Fort Totten, , Dakota Territory, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 43; FHL microfilm 350,349. Trautman next re-enlisted at Fort Totten on January 4, 1886."United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-L5Y9 : 24 May 2014), Jacob Trautman, 04 Jan 1886; citing p. 199, volume 086, Fort Totten, , Dakota Territory, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 45; FHL microfilm 1,319,378.

Wounded Knee Massacre

He was part of a force sent to arrest the Sioux chieftain Big Foot and disarm his 350 followers; he was among the cavalry troopers who, on the morning of December 29, 1890, surrounded his camp on the banks of

Wounded Knee Creek Wounded Knee Creek is a tributary of the White River, approximately 100 miles (160 km) long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 30, 2011 in Oglala Lakota County, ...

. Trautman distinguished himself by killing an armed Sioux warrior "at close quarters", and was among the twenty cavalrymen who received the

. His term of service expired on January 3, 1891, at the

Pine Ridge Agency The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...

, South Dakota. Although he was entitled to retire with pension, Troutman re-enlisted for the last time on January 4, 1891, while at the Pine Ridge Agency; he retired on August 3, 1891."United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDR-WKRZ : 24 May 2014), Jacob Trautmann, 04 Jan 1891; citing p. 261, volume 088, Pine Ridge, , South Dakota, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 46; FHL microfilm 1,319,379.

Later life and death

Trautman returned to Pittsburgh where he died at his home at 21 Carson Street on November 7, 1898, from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 58. He was buried at South Side Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Killed a hostile Indian at close quarters, and, although entitled to retirement from service, remained to the close of the campaign.

Controversy

There have been several attempts by various parties to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the Battle of Wounded Knee. Proponents claim that the engagement was in-fact a massacre and not a battle, due to the high number of killed and wounded Lakota women and children and the very one-sided casualty counts. Estimates of the Lakota losses indicate 150–300 killed, of which up to 200 were women and children. Additionally, as many as 51 were wounded. In contrast, the 7th Cavalry suffered 25 killed and 39 wounded, many being the result of friendly fire."Plains Humanities: Wounded Knee Massacre". Retrieved December 9, 2014. Calvin Spotted Elk, direct descendant of Chief Spotted Elk killed at Wounded Knee, launched a petition to rescind medals from the soldiers who participated in the battle. The Army has also been criticized more generally for the seemingly disproportionate number of Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the battle.Green, Jerry (1994). "The Medals of Wounded Knee". Nebraska State Historical Society, also available in Nebraska History #75, pp. 200–208. Nebraska State Historical Society History. For comparison, 20 Medals were awarded at Wounded Knee, 21 at the

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. Du ...

, and 20 at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

. Respectively, Cedar Creek and Antietam involved 52,712 and 113,000 troops, suffering 8,674 and 22,717 casualties. Wounded Knee, however, involved 610 combatants and resulted in as many as 705 casualties (including non-combatants).Brown, p. 178, Brown states that at the army camp, "the Indians were carefully counted." Utley, p. 204, gives 120 men, 230 women and children; there is no indication how many were warriors, old men, or incapacitated sick like Big Foot.

References

External links

Army at Wounded Knee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trautman, Jacob 1840 births 1898 deaths Union Army soldiers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from Pittsburgh United States Army soldiers German-born Medal of Honor recipients Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor Pine Ridge Campaign Military personnel from Hamburg