John Chowning Gresham (September 25, 1851 – September 2, 1926) was an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

who was a recipient of 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 valo ...

for his actions during the Wounded Knee Massacre as part of 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 ...

. After graduating from the military academy he accepted a commission in the

and saw combat in several battles during the American Indian wars including the Battle of Canyon Creek. He was assigned to the

Department of Dakota A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866, to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Depa ...

until 1884 when he was assigned to the Virginia Agricultural College as a professor of Military Science and Tactics. In 1887 he returned to the campaigns against the Indians where he was injured and received his Medal of Honor for his actions during the Wounded Knee Massacre. After retiring in 1915 he was recalled to active duty to command the ROTC and SATC programs at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

as a member of the

California National Guard The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

until the programs were disbanded in 1918. He died in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

in 1926 and is buried in

San Francisco National Cemetery San Francisco National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery, located in the Presidio of San Francisco, California. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with Golden Gate National Cemetery, a few miles south of the ci ...

Life and career

Gresham was born September 25, 1851, in Lancaster County, Virginia, and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1876. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd Cavalry at Fort Lincoln. He transferred to the 7th Cavalry as a replacement following the

Battle of Little Big Horn 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 ...

, and served in the

Nez Perce War The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...

, including the Battle of Canyon Creek. He was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in June 1878, and continued to serve at various posts within the

until September 1884. From September 1884 to February 1887 he was Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Virginia Agricultural College. In 1887 Gresham returned to duty with the 7th Cavalry and participated in the campaign against the Sioux in the Wounded Knee Massacre, leading a party into a ravine to attack a group of Indians hiding there. For this action he received the

in March 1895. He was promoted to captain in April 1892 and moved with the regiment to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts from December 1896 until rejoining the regiment in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in March 1899. Gresham was promoted to major of the 6th Cavalry in September 1901, and in January 1902 he sailed for

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to join the regiment. He served with the 6th Cavalry in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

until August 1903, including General J. Franklin Bell's campaign against

Miguel Malvar Miguel Malvar y Carpio (September 27, 1865 – October 13, 1911) was a Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and, subsequently, during the Philippine–American War. He assumed command of the Philippine revolutionary forc ...

. He transferred to the 15th Cavalry and returned to the United States. He returned to the Philippines with the 15th Cavalry in October 1905, serving there until July 1906. He transferred to the 9th Cavalry and again returned to the U. S. In July 1907 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the

14th Cavalry The 14th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It has two squadrons that provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition for Stryker brigade combat teams. Constituted in 1901, it has served in conflicts ...

and given command of the regiment and the post of Boise Barracks. The regiment was sent to

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment, 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 24th Fie ...

in the Philippines in March 1910. Gresham was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in August 1911, and, in April 1912 took command of the 10th Cavalry at Fort Ethan Allen,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In December 1913 he took command of

Fort Huachuca, Arizona Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation, established on 3 March 1877 as Camp Huachuca. The garrison is now under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is in Cochise County in southeast Arizona, appr ...

. He was in charge of militia affairs for the Western Department from August 1914 until he retired in September 1915. However, he was immediately assigned to active duty with the

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, and beginning in January 1918, he commanded the ROTC and SATC programs at the

, until they were disbanded in December 1918. He was a member of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

. Colonel Gresham died September 2, 1926, in

, and is buried in

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Wounded Knee Creek, S. Dak., 29 December 1890. Entered service at: Lancaster Courthouse, Va.. Birth: Virginia. Date of issue: 26 March 1895. Citation:

Voluntarily led a party into a ravine to dislodge Sioux Indians concealed therein. He was wounded during this action.

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. D ...

, and 20 at the Battle of Antietam. 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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gresham, John Chowning 1851 births 1926 deaths American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Lancaster County, Virginia United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery Pine Ridge Campaign Members of the Sons of the American Revolution Native American genocide perpetrators

Life and career

Medal of Honor citation

Controversy

See also

References

External links