Marion Perry Maus (August 25, 1850 – February 2, 1930) was a

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 ...

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 ...

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 valor in action on January 11, 1886, in the Sierra Madre Mountains,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. An 1874 graduate of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, he served in three wars and in multiple commands in the Army during his long career, retiring in 1913.

Early life and service in the American West

Born at Burnt Mills,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, on August 25, 1850, he was appointed to

from Montgomery County, Maryland, graduating in 1874. He was commissioned in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

branch and assigned to the western frontier. He served as chief of Army Scouts under Col. Nelson Appleton Miles in the pursuit and capture of

Chief Joseph ''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), was a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa ...

of the

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

in 1877. 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 September 1879 and served in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in 1880 and

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 ...

in 1882. In 1885, as a commander of

Apache scouts The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts. Most of their service was during the Apache Wars, between 1849 and 1886, though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States mil ...

, he took part in the expedition into

in pursuit of Geronimo and for conduct in that action he received the

. He was officially awarded the medal in November 1894. He was promoted to captain in November 1890, and saw action against the Sioux Indians in 1890–94.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 1st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Sierra Madre Mountains, Mex., 11 January 1886. Entered service at: Tennallytown, Montgomery County, Md. Birth: Burnt Mills, Md. Date of issue: 27 November 1894. Citation: "Most distinguished gallantry in action with hostile Apaches led by Geronimo and Natchez."

Later career

Maus served as aide to Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles during the latter's inspection tour to Europe in 1897 and during 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 = (cloc ...

in 1898. Maus was promoted to major in June 1899 and a month later was made inspector general of the Department of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and Columbia. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1902 and during 1902–03 accompanied Miles on a world tour. In January 1904 he became commander and

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 ...

of the 20th U.S. Infantry, which he commanded in the

Philippine Insurrection 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 1906, when he returned to California. He was temporarily in command of the Division of the Pacific during the absence of Gen. Frederick Funston and played an important role in maintaining order in San Francisco following the

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

. Maus was promoted to

in 1906, commanding the Department of Columbia until 1911, when he was given command of a brigade of the 2nd Division in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. At his retirement in August 1913, he was commander of a brigade of the 1st Division at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. Gen. Maus was a member of the

Order of the Indian Wars of the United States The Order of the Indian Wars of the United States (OIWUS) is a military society founded in 1896 by officers of the United States Army who served in campaigns against Native Americans from the American Revolution to the late 19th century. Histo ...

and the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

Personal life

Maus is buried in Section 3, site 3886-B, of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. He married Ms. Mattie Lindsay Poor (November 7, 1873 – January 18, 1936), who is buried with him.

Awards

* Silver Star * Indian Campaign Medal *

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 an ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maus, Marion Perry United States Army generals United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Military Academy alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor 1850 births 1930 deaths People from White Oak, Maryland