Valor Friday
Liet. Gen. John Schofield
Veterans of modern times will be aware that sometimes, if you want recognition for your actions, you gotta be proactive. Want to get some promotion points by getting a medal or two? If you do all the leg work on writing up the awards package, the likelihood of receiving the award go up exponentially. “Nobody cares about your career as much as you do,” was the advice I was once given, and I found it to be very true.
Historically, this also appears to be the case. I’ve detailed the history of the American awards and decorations system before. The nation’s highest award for combat gallantry, the Medal of Honor, was instituted during the Civil War. Until World War I, it was the only such award.
Of the more than 3,500 Medals of Honor awarded since that time, more than 1,500 were awarded for actions during the Civil War. I can’t find exact numbers, but many of those awards were years and decades after the conflict. More than 500 were awarded during the years 1891-1897.
This happened because the War Department, upon anyone’s petition, would make an award with virtually no supporting evidence or documentation. It wasn’t until 1897 that the Secretary of War would make it more burdensome to receive such an honor. Applications would need to be made within one year of the action. In the next several years, regulations were added that prohibited self-nominations and required nominations to be made by those with first-hand knowledge of the events described.
I went down this rabbit hole (read more about it here) by way of a request. One of our members came across the name of Lieutenant General John Schofield, MoH recipient, Commanding General of the US Army, Secretary of War, and namesake of the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. He nominated himself (when he was interim Secretary of War no less) for the MoH.
Schofield undoubtedly had a long and distinguished career in the service of our country. He started his service by graduating West Point, rose to brevet brigadier general very early in the Civil War, and saw action at Wilson’s Creek, Missouri. He was one of the youngest major generals in the Union Army a year later. He saw extensive service in the Trans-Mississippi Theater and then commanded an army during the Atlanta Campaign under Sherman. Post-war, he was Secretary of War (1868-1869) under Presidents Johnson and Grant, then in 1888 was placed in command of the whole of the United States Army.
I can’t find much on Schofields actions that warranted the Medal of Honor, which he received for Wilson’s Creek. He received the medal in 1892 and his citation says, quite simply;
Was conspicuously gallant in leading a regiment in a successful charge versus the enemy.
Schofield was a major at the time, and was chief of staff to General Lyon, commanding the Union line at Wilson’s Creek (who fell in that action). I won’t say Schofield didn’t earn the medal, and his name was never included on any lists of those who should have it rescinded, but our reader thought it curious that one, especially of such a high rank, could make application for the country’s highest honor for themselves.
Schofield was the first Commanding General of the Army to hold the Medal of Honor. In 1895 he was replaced by Lieutenant General Nelson Miles, who also received the Medal of Honor in 1892 for Civil War acts. Upon Miles’ retirement in 1903, the position was changed to its current Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA).
In 1906, Major General J Franklin Bell became CSA. Bell had received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action as a colonel in the Philippines. He was replaced four years later by Major General Leonard Wood, who was a MoH recipient from the Indian Wars. He was the last officer to be CSA while wearing the Medal of Honor.
Douglas MacArthur was CSA from 1930 to 1935, but his Medal of Honor wasn’t awarded until the Second World War the better part of a decade later. He was also the oldest man to ever receive the medal, receiving it for his actions at the age of 62.
Category: Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, Valor, We Remember
Meanwhile LCpl Umptyfratz dives on a grenade, assaults an entrenched enemy position, or pulls a wounded comrade to safety under hail of gunfire and gets a pg11/NJP for having not shaved that morning.
Word! Many that were “Awarded” the MoH didn’t really deserve it…and many that did deserve it were not Awarded. IMHO, Schofield was the epitome of the self serving political General who would go to any lengths to promote himself. Not having the trust of “The Rock” George Thomas is proof enough to me.
Keep in mind that until the 20th century the MoH was the ONLY award for valor in existence.
Not in today’s Army. Umpyfratz could very well be a Sikh, Muslim, or Norse Pagan and therefore unencumbered by shaving.
“The 1916 Medal of Honor Review Board”
https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/blog/the-1916-medal-of-honor-review-board/
“The Medal of Honor was created during the U.S. Civil War to recognize the service of military members who went above and beyond. It remained the United States’ only military medal for exemplary service until World War I.”
“However, requirements and standards for the Medal had evolved over that time. Additional regulations included a time limit, restrictions on self-nomination, and requirements for eyewitness statements and official reports.”
“It became clear that the Medal of Honor of the early twentieth century was different from the Medal of Honor of the Civil War. It also raised concerns that the Medal may have been awarded in cases where it was not warranted.”
“In response to those concerns, Congress ordered the Army to create a board of five retired generals to review all the Army Medals of Honor awarded since the Civil War. The Review Board began work in June 1916 and would take eight months to finish.”
“Of the 2,625 Army Medals of Honor reviewed, the Board chose to rescind 911 of them. Most of those were from two large groups: the 27th Maine Infantry and President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral guards.”
“Additional Medal of Honor awards were rescinded when the action was not valorous, even by the original standards. For example, one Medal had been sent to the grieving father of a soldier who had died in the Civil War. Another had gone to a soldier for putting out fuses. The most notable example was the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor, Dr. Mary E. Walker, for whom the Board noted “there is no evidence of distinguished gallantry.”
“The Board also reluctantly revoked the awards to five civilians. All five were civilian scouts for the Army, but the Medal of Honor laws said that the Medal could only go to enlisted men or officers in the military. This group included William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.”
“Decades later, six of the Medals of Honor rescinded by the 1916-1917 Review Board were indeed reinstated: Dr. Walker in 1977 and the five civilians in 1989. All six are now enshrined on the official Medal of Honor Roll. Reinstated awards: Amos Chapman, William Cody, William Dixon, James Dozier, Mary Walker, and William Woodall.”
Great stuff Ninja.
Thanks for the research and posting it for all of us to read.
I read more now than I ever did.
Of course after I learned to speed read, taught by the US Army for us dropouts, reading became a much easier and enjoyable pastime.
Billy Dixon’s November 7, 1874 citation reads: Gallantry in action.
I think both skirmishes got him the Medal:
1 – “Second Battle of Adobe Walls,” June 27, 1874. (A young Bat Masterson was also a participant.) This was where he made his famous 1,500 yard “scratch shot” using a 50-90 buffalo gun.
2 – “Buffalo Wallow Fight” on 12 September 1874.
Great stories. I think it’s funny how Wiki has become PC and names the opposing force “Natives” …. they used to be “Indians.”
Best ever MoH citation is William O Wilson. “Bravery”
https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=121940
When but one medal is available, many will get it for varying acts.
Today’s Army (and wider, the DOD) is an example of this, with the Purple Heart being awarded to both double amputees and those who got a concussion in an armored vehicle, and the Bronze Star Medal being awarded to both platoon leaders who led troops in combat and to staff officers whose major inconvenience was chow hours. A combat-proven Marine serving four years and seeing two deployments might be lucky to receive a single Navy Achievement Medal, while his Army counterpart might receive the Army Achievement Medal (AAM)for a couple of days of routine work. For example, I received an Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM-signed by the Director of the Army Staff, a Lieutenant General) for a few weeks of planning and supporting the Army Best Warrior Competition. This is the same award I received for tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as multi-year assignments in various units.
Having read many Medal of Honor citations, it’s easy to see a disparity between those awarded the medal (rightfully or not) in earlier times, and those recipients who earned it in later years. It’s damned near a book reading some citations, such as that of Roy Benavidez: Roy Benavidez – National Medal of Honor Museum (mohmuseum.org)
As for writing one’s own award, it’s a shame that it happens, but it does. I wrote only one of mine, this after serving for four years in The Old Guard and taking parts in hundreds of funerals as well as other ceremonies. Even then, I mainly wanted my token ARCOM because the Regimental Commander had been my battalion commander in a previous unit, and I had an AAM signed by him. Leaders are prone to both laziness and jealousy, and I’ve seen some either decide it wasn’t worth the time to recognize a Soldier or that they didn’t want to see a subordinate with a higher decoration than their own.
Item of interest: John Schofield’s brother George designed the once widely used Schofield revolver, and was a Brevet BG.
Isn’t he the same too for the Schofield Bible?
Btw, MacArthur was supposedly nominated (but did not receive) the MOH for actions as a Lieutenant during the Mexico incursion prior to WWI.
Cyrus I. Scofield (1843-1921) put together the Scofield Bible.
Don’t think he is related to John or George Schofield….
😉😎
How about the Schofield firearms.
Jeff:
Please note the difference in how the surname is spelled.
Scofield Bible does not have a “H”.
Schofield as in John and George has an “H”.
CDR D mentioned the Schofield revolver (spelled with a H).
Ninja;
I saw the difference in the spelling but I just added the name of the rifle since the spelling was similar.
During the Civil War, it was considered an honor to have a senior officer mention a soldier by name either in formal communications to HHQ or among conversation. Of course, that sort of thing would have to be communicated to the soldier being “recognized”. Seems back then, that was all the gratitude most expected (and appreciated).
(The author Shelby Foote (now deceased) tells some great stories he researched on the Civil War – on YouTube.)
Brits still do this and it is called “Mentioned in Despatches.” Those so named are listed in the London Gazette (they are “gazetted”).
As I recall, MiD is the rough equivalency of a Bronze Star Medal. No medal, but recipients “receive a certificate and wear an oak leaf device on the ribbon of the appropriate campaign medal.”
It looks like a silver oak leaf cluster.
The medal bar below:
The Afghanistan 2007 “Battle of the Sluice Gate” C.G.C., “Iraq 2003” M.I.D.
Awarded to Warrant Officer Class II J. T. ‘Tommo’ Thompson, 42 Commando, late 40 Commando, Royal Marines
I lost count of how many awards I’ve been promised (or seen others get for equivalent stuff) over the years. Maybe I should have written them up myself. Quick memory scrub is at least four AAMs, one JSAM, and four ARCOMs. Hmm. Thanks, my leaders! (Maybe I should just pin ‘em on. Hey, it worked for ADM Boorda! Ba-dum-dum-Tish!)
On a good note, I’ve only actually had to write one of my own awards.
Been there, but not quite so many lost awards. There was the AAM I was pinned by my COL in Acquisitions, which I never received a certificate or approved recommendation for, another AAM promised when I was the sole SGT helping to run the Machinegun Leaders’ Course with a bunch of SSGs, and the JCOM nearly everyone besides me and my SSG got for the 2021 Inauguration. Even our DA Civilians got recognized, but I made do with the JSAM received for COVID and Civil Disturbance Ops. Oh, and the ARCOM w/”V” my squad “earned” but which the leadership was told only two could be put in for (the Squad Leader got a BSM/V, of course), later asking why we weren’t all recommended for the award. There were a few other awards I was “put in for” but never received.
And, unlike Boorda, I never saw the need to wear stuff I could not document with a signed recommendation with orders number (DA638 for us Army types) and/or certificate. Damned shame that such a man, E1 to CNO, decided to wear stuff he thought he’d earned but couldn’t prove, then decided to take himself out in the garden of his Navy Yard home when Hackworth called him out, all over a device for a relatively low-grade decoration.