William Mackey Wherry (September 13, 1836 – November 3, 1918) was an American Brigadier General, author and 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 ...

,Medal of Honor recipients: Civil War (M-Z) .

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...

. 2010-05-24. URL:http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwarmz.html. Accessed: 2010-05-24. (Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5pxlK2Ut3)

Biography

Wherry was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He served on the frontier against the Indians 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 ...

. Herringshaw, T. W., ''Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography'', American Publishers Association, Chicago, Ill., 1914, p. 659 Wherry retired at the rank of brigadier general 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 ...

. Wherry is the author of "''Lyon's Campaign in Missouri''". While serving in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, as a

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 ...

of Company D, 3rd Missouri Volunteer Infantry and aide-de-camp to

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was the first Union general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginning of the conflict, to forestall secret secessionist plans of th ...

. Wherry received the

for actions at the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...

on August 10, 1861. Wherry's Medal of Honor was issued after the war on October 30, 1895 with the citation "Displayed conspicuous coolness and heroism in rallying troops that were recoiling under heavy fire". After the Civil War, Wherry served as a Brevet

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 ...

while assigned to Headquarters

First Military District The First Military District of the U.S. Army was one of five temporary administrative units of the U.S. War Department that existed in the American South. The district was stipulated by the Reconstruction Acts during the Reconstruction period f ...

in Richmond, Virginia. Wherry was promoted to lieutenant colonel, 2nd United States Infantry on 29 December 1894. At the onset of the Spanish–American War he took command of the 22nd Infantry when regimental commander Col John C. Bates was promoted to brigadier general of an Independent Brigade consisting of the 3rd Infantry Regiment and 20th Infantry Regiment. He commanded the regiment until he was promoted to colonel of the 8th Infantry on 30 August 1898. He was transferred to the 17th Infantry the following month. Wherry was appointed brigadier general of volunteers September 21, 1898 and discharged from the volunteers on November 30, 1898.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . pp. 563-564 Wherry was appointed brigadier general in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

on January 7, 1899 and retired on January 18, 1899. Wherry died on November 3, 1918 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, and was buried at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...

in St. Louis.Official Army Register of 1920, United States Adjutant-General's Office, Washington D.C., January 1, 1920, p. 1091

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .
The Last King of Hawaii, ''Merrie Monarch'' King Kalakaua Signed Document Initiating Civil War Colonel William M. Wherry Into the Royal Order of Kamehameha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wherry, William M. 1836 births 1918 deaths Writers from St. Louis People of Missouri in the American Civil War Union Army officers United States Army generals United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military writers American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

See also

Notes

References