Marcus William Robertson (February 12, 1870 – May 24, 1948) 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 ...

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 valo ...

—for his actions during the Philippine–American War. Marcus Robertson enlisted in the United States Army from

Hood River, Oregon The city of Hood River is the seat of Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is a port on the Columbia River, and is named for the nearby Hood River. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,313. It is the only city in Oregon whe ...

in May 1898, and, by May 16 1899, was serving as a private 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. 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 and served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

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,

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 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 city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

File:YoungsScouts.jpg, Picture of Young's Scouts 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