William H. Thompkins (October 3, 1872 – September 24, 1916) was a

Buffalo Soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

in the

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 ...

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 in 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 ...

. Thompkins and three of his fellow Buffalo Soldiers were the last black servicemen to be presented the Medal of Honor for more than half a century.

Biography

Thompkins joined the army from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in August 1889, claiming to be 21 years old.Register of Enlistments in the US Army, 1798-1914 By June 30, 1898, 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 Troop G of the

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...

. On that day, American forces aboard the US
''Florida''
near

Trinidad, Cuba Trinidad () is a town in the province of Sancti Spíritus, central Cuba. Together with the nearby Valle de los Ingenios, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988, because of its historical importance as a center of the sugar trade in ...

dispatched a landing party to provide reconnaissance on

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

outposts in the area. The party was discovered by Spanish scouts and came under heavy fire; their boats were sunk by enemy cannon fire, leaving them stranded on shore. The men aboard the ''Florida'' launched several rescue attempts; the first four were forced to retreat under heavy fire. The fifth attempt, manned by Thompkins and three other Privates of the 10th Cavalry (

Dennis Bell Dennis Bell may refer to: * Dennis Bell (basketball) (born 1951), American basketball player * Dennis Bell (footballer) (born 1940), Australian rules footballer * Dennis Bell (journalist) (1948–1995), American journalist * Dennis Bell (Medal o ...

, Fitz Lee, and

George H. Wanton George Henry Wanton (May 15, 1868 – November 27, 1940) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Spanish–American War. Wanton and thre ...

) under the command of Lieutenant Ahern, launched at night and successfully found and rescued the surviving members of the landing party. One year later, on June 23, 1899, four of the rescuers were awarded the

for their actions in what had come to be known as the

Battle of Tayacoba The Battle of Tayacoba, June 30, 1898, (also spelled Tayabacao) was an American special operations effort to land supplies and reinforcements to Cuban rebels fighting for their independence in the Spanish–American War. Background On June 25 ...

. William Thompkins died in 1916 and was 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 ...

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 ...

Medal of Honor citation

Private Thompkins's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

After a force had succeeded in landing and had been compelled to withdraw to the boats, leaving a number of killed and wounded ashore, he voluntarily went ashore in the face of the enemy and aided in the rescue of his wounded comrades who would otherwise have fallen into the hands of the enemy, this after several previous attempts had been frustrated.

References

: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompkins, William H. 1872 births 1916 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel of the Spanish–American War People from Paterson, New Jersey United States Army soldiers Buffalo Soldiers Spanish–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery Military personnel from New Jersey

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References