Griffin Seward
Encyclopedia
Griffin Seward was an American Civil War
Medal of Honor
recipient who served in the United States Army
as a wagoner in Company G of 8th United States Regular Cavalry.
.
Seward was discharged on July 13, 1865, when he returned to Delaware to work on a farm in Delaware City
. He re-enlisted a little over a year later and was sent to the Arizona Territory, where he fought Cochise
and the Chiricahua
Apaches during a battle at Chiricahua Mountains
on October 20, 1869, earning the Medal of Honor for Gallantry in Action.
Captain Bernard noted in his report: These men are they who advanced with me up the steep and rocky mesa under as heavy a fire as I ever saw delivered from the number of men, Indians, say from one hundred to two hundred. These men advanced under this fire until within thirty steps from the Indians when they came to a ledge of rocks where every man who showed his head was shot at by several Indians at once. Here the men remained and did good shooting through the crevices of the rocks until ordered to fall back which was done by running from rock to rock where they would halt and return the fire of the Indians.
After his discharge in New Mexico, Seward remained in the area and became an Indian trader at a post near Holbrook, Arizona Territory. He died at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
in Los Angeles, California (Santa Monica, California
) on September 10, 1908, and was buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery.
Rank and organization: Wagoner, Company G, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Chiricahua Mountains, Ariz., October 20, 1869. Birth: Dover, Del. Date of issue: February 14, 1870.
Citation:
Gallantry in action.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient who served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a wagoner in Company G of 8th United States Regular Cavalry.
Biography
Born in Hazlettsville, six miles west of Dover, Delaware, Seward enlisted on August 16, 1861, in Company B, 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry. He was noted as a farmer, 5' 3" tall, weighed 113 lbs., with gray eyes, black hair, and a dark complexion. During the Civil War, Seward was taken as a prisoner in April, 1863, later he either was released or escaped and then was taken as a prisoner a second time when he was sent to Andersonville, GeorgiaAndersonville, Georgia
Andersonville is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. The population was 331 at the 2000 census . It is located in the southwest part of the state, about southwest of Macon, Georgia on the Central of Georgia railroad...
.
Seward was discharged on July 13, 1865, when he returned to Delaware to work on a farm in Delaware City
Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the ferry to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island.-Geography:Delaware City is...
. He re-enlisted a little over a year later and was sent to the Arizona Territory, where he fought Cochise
Cochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
and the Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
Apaches during a battle at Chiricahua Mountains
Chiricahua Mountains
The Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...
on October 20, 1869, earning the Medal of Honor for Gallantry in Action.
Captain Bernard noted in his report: These men are they who advanced with me up the steep and rocky mesa under as heavy a fire as I ever saw delivered from the number of men, Indians, say from one hundred to two hundred. These men advanced under this fire until within thirty steps from the Indians when they came to a ledge of rocks where every man who showed his head was shot at by several Indians at once. Here the men remained and did good shooting through the crevices of the rocks until ordered to fall back which was done by running from rock to rock where they would halt and return the fire of the Indians.
After his discharge in New Mexico, Seward remained in the area and became an Indian trader at a post near Holbrook, Arizona Territory. He died at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
The National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was established on March 3, 1865, in the United States by Congress to provide care for volunteer soldiers who had been disabled through loss of limb, wounds, disease, or injury during service in the Union forces in the Civil War...
in Los Angeles, California (Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) on September 10, 1908, and was buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery.
Medal of Honor citation
Citation:
Gallantry in action.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients