William Foster (Medal of Honor)

Sergeant William Foster (1832 – July 16, 1880) was a British-born soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 4th U.S. Cavalry during the Texas–Indian Wars. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against the Comanche Indians at the Red River in Texas on September 29, 1872.

William Foster
Born1832
Somerset, England, United Kingdom
DiedJuly 16, 1880(1880-07-16) (aged 48)
San Francisco, California, United States
Place of burial
San Francisco National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of servicec. 1872–1873
RankSergeant
Unit4th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Texas–Indian Wars
Battle of the North Fork of the Red River
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

William Foster was born in Somerset, England in 1832. He emigrated to the United States and later enlisted in the U.S. Army in Bakersville, Maryland. Spending much of his military career on the frontier, Foster participated in campaigns against the Southern Plains Indians for over 20 years becoming a veteran Indian fighter and may have had a rudimentary knowledge of Indian dialects. By the early 1870s, he was a sergeant in Company F of the 4th U.S. Cavalry then stationed in Texas.

On September 28, 1872, he was part of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie's expedition over the Staked Plains. Following a one-day march to the North Fork of the Red River, a lodge encampment of around 280 Mow-wi Comanche warriors was discovered. Though vastly outnumbered, MacKenzie ordered an attack hoping to catch the Comanche by surprise. The soldiers approached, however, startled the Indian's ponies and started a stampede alerting the camp. In the ensuing battle, the cavalry troopers engaged in fierce fighting with the Comanche warriors. As a result of MacKenzie's victory, the Mow-wi formally surrendered at Fort Sill ending 17 years of warfare. Foster was among those who distinguished themselves in the fight and, with eight other members of his regiment, received the Medal of Honor for "gallantry in action".[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The other men awarded the MOH included Blacksmith James Pratt, Farrier David Larkin, Privates Edward Branagan and William Rankin, Corporals Henry McMasters and William O'Neill, Sergeant William Wilson and First Sergeant William McNamara. Foster eventually left the military and settled in San Francisco, California, where he died on July 16, 1880, at the age of 48. He is among the 35 MOH recipients interred at San Francisco National Cemetery.[10]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Red River, Tex., September 29, 1872. Entered service at: ------. Birth: England, Date of issue: November 19, 1872.

Citation:

Gallantry in action.[11]

See also

References
  1. 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. (pg. 168)
  2. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 283)
  3. Hamilton, Allen Lee. Sentinel of the Southern Plains: Fort Richardson and the Northwest Texas Frontier, 1866-1878. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1988. (pg. ) ISBN 0-87565-073-2
  4. Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (pg. 268) ISBN 0-922564-00-0
  5. 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. (pg. 27) ISBN 0-935269-07-X
  6. Neal, Charles M. Valor Across the Lone Star: The Congressional Medal of Honor in Frontier Texas. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2003. (pg. 409, 458) ISBN 0-87611-184-3
  7. Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  8. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for William Foster". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  9. Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: William Foster". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  10. Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "Photo of Grave site of MOH Recipient William Foster". Medal of Honor recipient Gravesites In The State of. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  11. "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.

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 0-306-81170-7
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