George Ferrari

Corporal George Ferrari (1845 – 1895?) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry during the Apache Wars. He was one of three men who were received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against the Apache Indians at Red Creek in the Arizona Territory on September 23, 1869. He was the first and only Italian-American to receive the award during the thirty-year period of the Indian Wars.

George Ferrari
Born1845
New York City, US
DiedMay 4, 1895 ?[1]
Place of burial
Seattle, Washington, US[1]
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of servicec. 1869–1870
RankCorporal
Unit8th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Apache Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

George Ferrari was born in New York City, New York in 1845. He later joined the U.S. Army in Cleveland, Ohio and was assigned to Company D of the 8th U.S. Cavalry. Ferrari was sent to the Arizona Territory where he took part in the Apache Wars in the late-1860s. On September 23, 1869, he and two other cavalry troopers, Private John Walker and Sergeant Charles Harris,[2] were cited for "gallantry in action" against the Apache at Red Creek and received the Medal of Honor.[3][4][5][6][7] Although he was the first and only Italian-American ever to receive the MOH during the Indian Wars,[8][9][10][11] little of his life is known prior to and after leaving the military.[12]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company D, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Red Creek, Ariz., September 23, 1869. Entered service at: Montgomery County, Ohio. Birth: New York, N.Y. Date of issue: November 23, 1869.

Citation:

Gallantry in action.[13]

See also

References
  1. Burials of Indian War Campaigns Medal of Honor Recipients Affiliated with New York at the New York State Military Musem and Veterans Research Center website
  2. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (p. 140) ISBN 1594160163
  3. Beyer, Walter F. and Oscar Frederick Keydel, ed. Deeds of Valor: From Records in the Archives of the United States Government; how American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor; History of Our Recent Wars and Explorations, from Personal Reminiscences and Records of Officers and Enlisted Men who Were Rewarded by Congress for Most Conspicuous Acts of Bravery on the Battle-field, on the High Seas and in Arctic Explorations. Vol. 2. Detroit: Perrien-Keydel Company, 1906. (p. 552)
  4. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863–1973, 93rd Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1973. (p. 289)
  5. Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. (p. 325) ISBN 0939526190
  6. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (p. 396) ISBN 0922564000
  7. O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Barbed Wire Press, 1991. (p. 26) ISBN 093526907X
  8. "Proud Heritage". The American Legion. Vol. 131, No. 6. (December 1991): (p. 161)
  9. LaGumina, Salvatore John. The Italian American experience: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2000. (p. 365) ISBN 0815307136
  10. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for George Ferrari". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  11. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: George Ferrari". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  12. Schiavo, Giovanni. Four Centuries of Italian-American History. 4th ed. Staten Island, New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1992. (p. 320) ISBN 0934733708
  13. "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on November 6, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

Further reading
  • Konstantin, Phil. This Day in North American Indian History: Important Dates in the History of North America's Native Peoples for Every Calendar Day. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 0306811707
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