Marcus William Robertson (February 12, 1870 – May 24, 1948) 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 America's highest military 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 during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

. Marcus Robertson enlisted in the United States Army from Hood River, Oregon in May 1898, and, by May 16 1899, was serving 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 B of the

2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a military regiment recruited in the U.S. state of Oregon during the Spanish–American War. As the first foreign war in U.S. history, it was the first time members of the Oregon National Guard had fo ...

as part of

Young's Scouts Young's Scouts was a select group of United States Army soldiers during the Philippine–American War organized under a Vermont civilian named William Henry Young. Unit history Because of his previous experience as a soldier and soldier of fort ...

. On that day, near San Isidro 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 ...

, Private Robertson helped to rout a large enemy force despite being greatly outnumbered. For his actions, he was presented with the Medal of Honor on April 28, 1906. He later rose to the rank of stable

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 ...

and served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He died at age 78 and was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Hood River, Oregon.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 2nd Oregon Volunteer Infantry. Place and date: Near San Isidro, Philippine Islands, May 16, 1899. Entered service at: Hood River, Oreg. Birth:

Flintville, Wisconsin Suamico is a village in Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,346 at the time of the 2010 census. Suamico is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area, and contains the neighborhood community of Flintvil ...

Date of issue: April 28, 1906. Citation "With 21 other scouts charged across a burning bridge, under heavy fire, and completely routed 600 of the enemy who were entrenched in a strongly fortified position."

Gallery

File:MedalCertificate.jpg,

Certificate presented to Marcus W. Robertson File:medalfront.jpg, View of Front of Medal of Honor presented to Marcus W. Robertson File:medalback.jpg, View of back of

presented to Marcus W. Robertson with inscription File:marcuswrobertson.jpg, Marcus W. Robertson, picture taken in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, en route to

with Oregon Volunteers File:LyonsRobertson.jpg, Marcus W. Robertson on the right with fellow

recipient Edward E. Lyon on left in

Manila, Philippines 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 populated ...

File:YoungsScouts.jpg, Picture of

in the

, including Marcus W. Robertson 2nd from right front, squatting. File:OregonVolunteers.jpg, Company B, Second Regiment, Oregon Volunteers, US Infantry, including Marcus W. Robertson top row, third from right.

References

External links

* * 1870 births 1948 deaths Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers People from Hood River, Oregon People from Suamico, Wisconsin Philippine–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor {{US-army-World-War-I-bio-stub

Medal of Honor citation

See also

Gallery

References

External links