Henry R. Tilton

Colonel Henry Remsen Tilton (February 1, 1836 – June 25, 1906) was an American army surgeon in the U.S. Army who saw service in the American Civil and Indian Wars. He served as an officer with the 7th U.S. Cavalry during the Nez Perce War and was cited for gallantry at the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain, in which he rescued and protected wounded soldiers, on September 30, 1877. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions almost twenty years later.

Henry R. Tilton
Henry R. Tilton prior to his retirement in 1900.
Born(1836-02-01)February 1, 1836
Barnegat Township, New Jersey, United States
DiedJune 25, 1906(1906-06-25) (aged 70)
Sackets Harbour
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861–1900
RankColonel
Unit7th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Indian Wars
Nez Perce War
Great Sioux War of 1876-77
1873 Yellowstone River Expedition
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Civil War service

Henry Remsen Tilton was born in Barnegat Township, New Jersey on February 1, 1836. He graduated in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1859 and, at the start of the American Civil War, enlisted in the United States Army in Jersey City as an assistant surgeon on August 26, 1861. Serving as a first lieutenant and surgeon in various federal hospitals throughout the war, he was brevetted a captain and major for "faithful and meritorious service" on March 13, 1865.[1] After the war, Tilton became a Companion of the District of Columbia Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Post war service

Tilton remained with the Army Medical Department after the war and was post surgeon at Fort Lyon in the Colorado Territory from 1866 to 1870. While at Fort Lyon in May 1868, Tilton treated Kit Carson who had fallen ill while travelling to Washington, DC.[2] He saw his first action that same year participating in skirmishes with the Cheyenne on September 8 and again on October 7, 1868. Tilton later accompanied Colonel David S. Stanley in his expedition of the Yellowstone River in the Montana Territory in 1873. He was subsequently stationed at various frontier posts in the North Plains and, in 1876, attained the rank of major-surgeon.[1] Tilton served under General Nelson A. Miles at Wolf Mountain, the last major battle of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, the following year.[3][4][5][6]

Within a few short months, Tilton was once again under Miles command when the Nez Perce War began that summer. Assigned to the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, he later wrote an account of the campaign entitled "After the Nez Perce" published in Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. On September 30, 1877, he won distinction at the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain against Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce by exposing himself to heavy fire to rescue and protect many wounded men on the battlefield. His actions would not be recognized by the War Department until almost twenty years later when he received the Medal of Honor on March 22, 1895.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Later career

He spent the rest of his career with the medical department as deputy surgeon general.[1] Tilton retired from active service as a lieutenant colonel on February 2, 1900, and made a full colonel upon being placed on the retirement list.[5][6]

Death and burial

He died in Sackets Harbor, New York on June 25, 1906,[3][4] and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.[2] His wife, Anna M. Tilton, had died six months earlier and the two were buried alongside each other.[20][21]

Awards

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Major and Surgeon, U.S. Army. Place and date: At Bear Paw Mountain, Mont., 30 September 1877. Entered service at: Jersey City, N.J. Birth: Barnegat, N.J. Date of issue: 22 March 1895.

Citation:

Fearlessly risked his life and displayed great gallantry in rescuing and protecting the wounded men.[22]

See also

References
  1. Powell, William Henry. List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900. New York: L. R. Hamersly & Co., 1900. (p. 631)
  2. Holt, Dean W. American Military Cemeteries: A Comprehensive Illustrated Guide to the Hallowed Grounds of the United States, including Cemeteries Overseas. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1992. (p. 141) ISBN 0-89950-666-6
  3. Thrapp, Dan L. Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: In Three Volumes, Volume III (P–Z). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. (p. 1431) ISBN 0-8032-9418-2
  4. Cozzens, Peter, ed. Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, 1865–1890: The Wars for the Pacific Northwest. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2001. (p. 757) ISBN 0-8117-0573-0
  5. Farwell, Byron. The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare: An Illustrated World View. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. (p. 814) ISBN 0-393-04770-9
  6. Greene, Jerome A., ed. Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876–1877: The Military View. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003. (p. 186) ISBN 0-8061-2669-8
  7. 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. 253)
  8. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863–1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979.
  9. Brown, Mark H. The Flight of the Nez Perce. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982. (pp. 381–82, 398) ISBN 0-8032-6069-5
  10. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (p. 400) ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  11. 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. 22) ISBN 0-935269-07-X
  12. Stallard, Patricia Y., ed. Fanny Dunbar Corbusier: Recollections of Her Army Life, 1869–1908. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003. (p. 315) ISBN 0-8061-3531-X
  13. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (p. 244) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  14. Nunnally, Michael L. American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2007. ISBN 0-7864-2936-4
  15. Dary, David. Frontier Medicine. New York: Random House, 2008. ISBN 0-307-27031-9
  16. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Henry Tilton". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  17. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: Henry Remsen Tilton". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  18. "Henry R. Tilton". Office of Medical History: Medal of Honor recipients. Army Medical Department (United States). July 8, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  19. Notable Graves, Medal of Honor Recipients, Indian Wars
  20. "Burial Detail: Tilton, Henry Remsen". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery.
  21. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "Photo of Grave site of MOH Recipient Henry Tilton". Medal of Honor recipients Buried In Arlington National Cemetery. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  22. "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
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