James Joseph Bell (July 1, 1845 – June 1, 1901) 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 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. ...

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 ...

. His name is sometimes incorrectly given as James M. Bell.

Early years

James Bell was born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in June 1845 (his gravestone says July 1, 1845). He came to the U.S. in 1866, working initially as a laborer. On July 9, 1870, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to Company E Seventh Infantry. He reenlisted five years later.

The Great Sioux War of 1876-77

In March 1876, Company E Seventh Infantry, commanded by Captain Walter Clifford, departed their station at Camp Baker, Montana, to join General

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...

in preparation to launching against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne who had refused to come into the reservations. The company arrived at

Fort Ellis Fort Ellis was a United States Army fort established August 27, 1867, east of present-day Bozeman, Montana. Troops from the fort participated in many major campaigns of the Indian Wars. The fort was closed on August 2, 1886. History The fort w ...

near Bozeman where other troops were gathering. In April, the column departed, heading east along the

Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains an ...

and finally meeting up with General

Alfred Terry Alfred Howe Terry (November 10, 1827 – December 16, 1890) was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869, and again from 1872 to 1886. In 1865, Terry led Union troops to vic ...

's column in early June. After Lieutenant Colonel

George Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

's column broke off heading up the Rosebud, the Terry-Gibbon column marched up the Yellowstone and then turned up the Rosebud River. They arrived at the tragic scene of the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

two days after Custer and his men had lost their lives. On July 9, 1876, General Terry called for volunteers to carry a message to General

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

about the Custer disaster and to offering to coordinate their columns against the Indians, who responded violently to attempts to forced relocation and attacks from Americans. To accomplish this dangerous mission of attacking Indians in their home land, three privates from Captain Clifford's company volunteered to carry the message: Bell, William Evans, and

Benjamin F. Stewart Benjamin F. Stewart (born 1851) was a Private in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Indian Wars. Biography Benjamin Stewart was born in 1851 in Norfolk, Virginia, and enlisted in the Army from Newpor ...

. It took the soldiers three days to make their way to General Crook's camp near present-day

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropol ...

. For their bravery, all three soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor on December 2, 1876. The citation reads "Carried dispatches to Gen. Crook at the imminent risk of his life."

Later life

Grave of James Joseph Bell (1845–1901) at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Chicago

Private Bell was promoted to sergeant and spent the remainder of his professional life in the Army, serving eight enlistments in all. He was married in 1888 and had one son, born at Fort Logan in 1897. Bell returned to Chicago, where he died on July 1, 1901. He was buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Chicago.

Note

Private Bell should not to be confused with two-time Medal of Honor recipient James Franklin Bell, who later obtained the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

or with

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 ...

James B. Bell James Bennett Bell (August 9, 1835 – June 30, 1910) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Missionary Ridge o ...

of the

11th Ohio Infantry The 11th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Three-months regiment The 11th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio, from April 18–26, 1861 ...

, who was awarded his medal 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 ...

References

: * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, James M. 1845 births 1901 deaths Military personnel from County Antrim Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients 19th-century Irish people Irish soldiers in the United States Army United States Army non-commissioned officers Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor

Early years

The Great Sioux War of 1876-77

Later life

See also

Note

References