Albert Sale

Albert Sale
Born1850
Broome County, New York, United States
DiedNovember 28, 1874(1874-11-28) (aged 24)
Fort Union, New Mexico Territory
Place of burial
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1866–1874
RankPrivate
Unit8th U.S. Cavalry
Battles/warsIndian Wars
Apache Wars
AwardsMedal of Honor

Private Albert D. Sale (1850 – November 28, 1874) was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 8th U.S. Cavalry in the Arizona Territory during the Apache Wars. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry against a hostile band of Apache Indians, killing an Apache warrior in hand-to-hand combat and seizing his war pony at the Santa Maria River on June 29, 1869.

Biography

Albert P. Sale was born in Broome County, New York, in 1850. After his father died, Sale and his siblings were placed in Binghamton Children's Home by his mother, who also died soon after. At age 14, he ran away from the home and spent two years on the road before arriving in Dubuque, Iowa. It was there that he enlisted in the United States Army,[1][2][3] signing papers indicating that he was of legal age, in August 1866. Sale was assigned to Troop F of the 8th U.S. Cavalry Regiment and spent the next several years on the frontier.[4]

While stationed at Camp Toll Gate, Sale served with the 8th Cavalry in the Arizona Territory during the Apache Wars and was present during the savage fighting in the area during the summer of 1869. On June 26, his unit engaged the Chiricahua Apache in one of the biggest battles of the campaign when Major W.R. Price led a surprise attack against a village on the Santa Maria River, killing four warriors and destroying about 200 dwellings. Sale distinguished himself in a follow-up action three days later in which he fought and killed an Apache brave in hand-to-hand combat, capturing his war pony and other effects. He was officially cited for "personal bravery in the face of the enemy" and awarded the Medal of Honor[1][5][6][7][8][9] on March 3, 1870.[2][3][4][10][11][12]

Though mustered out of the military shortly afterwards, Sale reenlisted four years later but died of typhoid fever at Fort Union in the New Mexico Territory on November 28, 1874. He was 24 years old. Sale was originally buried at Fort Union but was moved with 286 other graves in 1892 and interred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery.[4][8][12] He is one of ten Medal of Honor recipients, and one of four Indian War veterans, buried there.[11][13]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Santa Maria River, Ariz., 29 June 1869. Entered service at:--. Birth: Broome County, N.Y. Date of issue: 3 March 1870.

Citation:

Gallantry in killing an Indian warrior and capturing pony and effects.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Medal of Honor winners with Iowa connection". The Gazette. November 14, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Army Times Publishing Company. "Military Times Hall of Valor: Albert Sale". Awards and Citations: Medal of Honor. MilitaryTimes.com. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "MOH Citation for Albert Sale". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c State Historical Society of Iowa (2006). "Iowa Medal of Honor Heroes: Private Albert Sale". Indian Wars. IowaHistory.org. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  5. ^ 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. 553)
  6. ^ 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. 26) ISBN 0-935269-07-X
  7. ^ Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 140) ISBN 1-59416-016-3
  8. ^ a b Sterner, C. Douglas (1999). "Photo of Grave site of MOH Recipient Albert Sale". Medal of Honor Recipient Gravesites In The State of Kansas. HomeofHeroes.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Congressional Medal of Honor Society. "Albert Sale". Recipients. CMOHS.org. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  10. ^ Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 312)
  11. ^ a b 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. (pg. 110) ISBN 0-89950-666-6
  12. ^ a b Melzer, Richard. Buried Treasures: Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 2007. (pg. 285) ISBN 0-86534-531-7
  13. ^ Davis, Roger. "Medal of Honor recipients and Leavenworth County". Fort Leavenworth Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  14. ^ "Medal of Honor recipients". Indian War Campaigns. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. 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

External links