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COL Samuel Russell
to remember
Loyd, George, 1SG.
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Junction City special: First Sergeant George Loyd, I troop, Seventh cavalry, one of the oldest soldiers at the post, committed suicide by shooting himself through the head. Death was almost instantaneous. Sergeant Loyd has seen hard service and has been wounded a number of times. At the battle of Wounded Knee he was shot through the body and was left for dead. Since then he has had two ribs broken and it is thought he was deranged when he committed his last rash act.
Other Comments:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant George Lloyd, United States Army, for bravery, especially after having been severely wounded through the lung on 29 December 1890, while serving with Company I, 7th U.S. Cavalry, in action at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.
Wounded Knee Massacre
From Month/Year
December / 1890
To Month/Year
December / 1890
Description The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota.
The previous day, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside intercepted Spotted Elk's band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them 5 miles (8.0 km) westward to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp. The remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, arrived and surrounded the encampment. The regiment was supported by a battery of four Hotchkiss mountain guns.
On the morning of December 29, the troops went into the camp to disarm the Lakota. One version of events claims that during the process of disarming the Lakota, a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote was reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he had paid a lot for it. A scuffle over the rifle ensued, causing several Lakota to draw their weapons and open fire on the cavalry regiment. The situation quickly devolved as both sides began firing indiscriminately. By the time the battle was over, more than 150 men, women, and children of the Lakota had been killed and 51 were wounded (4 men and 47 women and children, some of whom died later); some estimates placed the number of dead at 300. Twenty-five soldiers also died, and 39 were wounded (6 of the wounded later died). At least twenty soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. In 2001, the National Congress of American Indians passed two resolutions condemning the awards and called on the U.S. government to rescind them. The site of the battlefield has been designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1990, both houses of the U.S. Congress passed a resolution formally expressing "deep regret" for the massacre.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
December / 1890
To Month/Year
December / 1890
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories 29 December 1890: 1st Sergeant (then Sergeant) George Loyd, for courage, zeal , and attention to duty in action against hostile Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, especially after having been severely wounded through the lung.
