John Breckinridge Babcock (February 7, 1843Civil War officers
/ref> – April 26, 1909) was a

US 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 ...

officer 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 during the Indian Wars. (Note - his obituary in the ''New York Times'' states he was born in 1847, but this is not supported by the ''Official Army Register''.)Orbituary at New York Times
/ref>Official Army Register for 1909. The Adjutant General. Washington, D.C. pg. 458.

Life and military career

Babcock was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, a great-great-grandson of

Joshua Babcock Joshua Babcock (1707–1783) was a physician, American Revolution general, Rhode Island Supreme Court justice, and postmaster from Westerly, Rhode Island. Biography Early life Babcock was born in Westerly in 1707 to James Babcock and Elizabeth ...

. He joined the 37th New York Volunteer Infantry as a

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 ...

in 1862. After being commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in November 1862, he fought in several battles that took place in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He reached the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of volunteers in the 62nd New York Volunteer Infantry on January 1, 1865, three months before the end of the war. He resigned his commission on July 23, 1865. Babcock was appointed to the Regular Army as

on January 22, 1867, and fought against the

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

and the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

during the Indian Wars. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1868, to captain in 1877, to major in 1893 and to lieutenant colonel in 1897. In 1897 he received the

for gallantry in action in 1869. After the outbreak of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in June 1898 but reverted to his Regular Army rank of lieutenant colonel in November of the same year. He was promoted to colonel in February 1901 and was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

on August 7, 1903, and retired the next day. General Babcock died from Bright's disease on board the SS ''Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm'', while traveling from

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was a member of the California Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

(MOLLUS). He was also a member of the

Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...

and the Sons of the American Revolution.

Family

General Babcock's son, Conrad S. Babcock, graduated from West Point in 1898 and served during the

and the Philippine Insurrection. He rose to the rank of colonel during the First World War and received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and two

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

s. He was a hereditary member of MOLLUS. He retired from the Army in 1937 and was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list in 1940. Conrad Babcock had two sons who were career army officers: Major General C. Stanton Babcock, who was an aide to Secretary of State

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...

and Colonel Charles P. Babcock.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 5th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Spring Creek, Nebr., May 16, 1869. Entered service at: Stonington, Conn. Birth: New Orleans, La. Date of issue: September 18, 1897. ;Citation

While serving with a scouting column, this officer's troop was attacked by a vastly superior force of Indians. Advancing to high ground, he dismounted his men, remaining mounted himself to encourage them, and there fought the Indians until relieved, his horse being wounded.

Awards

* Civil War Campaign Medal *

Indian Campaign Medal The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.

Spanish War Service Medal The Spanish War Service Medal was a United States military medal of the U.S. Army which was established by an act of the U.S. Congress on 9 July 1918 (40 Stat. 873). The medal recognizes those members of the Army and of the U.S. Volunteers who per ...

References

*Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975.P.49

External links