Word Celebrity Blog

Clinton Greaves


Clinton Greaves was born into slavery on August 12, 1855 in Madison County, Virginia. His father was born John Greaves, a blacksmith; His mother's name is unknown, as well as  his earlier ancestry.

Clinton was a laborer and a resident of Prince George County,  Maryland, when he enlisted in the Army for the first time on November 21, 1872 from Prince George's County.












He was 23 years old. His enlistment papers described him as black eyes, black hair, black complexion, and five feet six and a half inches tall. Clinton Greaves could not write, so he made his mark.

His second enlistment was at Santa Fe, New Mexico on December 21, 1877, at the age of 28. This time, he did sign his name.

Clinton Greaves spent over 20 years in the Army, most of it in the 9th Cavalry as a Buffalo Soldier.














In the year of 1877 and following, the United States Army had a concentrated  effort by  using the Buffalo Soldiers to run the Apaches to ground. It was a long and grueling campaign. The Chiricahua Apaches were making more raids and some young men of the  Mescalero and Warm Springs tribes had left the reservations to join in the raids.

On January 23, 1877, news was telegraphed from Fort Bowie, Arizona Territory, to Fort Bayard that a party of forty to fifty Chiricahuas had fought a detachment of the Sixth Cavalry in Arizona and had probably moved eastward into New Mexico. Lt. Henry H. Wright with six men of Company C and three Navaho Indian scouts left the post at once for these Indians. Clinton Greaves was in the small detachment. They set out to track down the Apaches and force them, to return to the reservation.

The Indian camp was located on the morning of January 24, in the Florida Mountains approximately 55 miles south of  Silver City. Outnumbered badly, Lt. Wright did not attack, but sought instead to persuade the Chirichuas to surrender.t. Wright and his men dismounted and approached the Apaches. After talking without receiving any cooperation, Lt. Wright turned and saw that the Indians had quietly and very quickly surrounded him and his men. Instantly he shouted out the order to break through the ring of 50 armed Apaches. As they did so a deadly fight at close quarters broke out. Weapons were fired and then used as clubs.





















Cpl. Clinton Greaves rushed the ring of Apaches and literally "bashed" his way through as Lt. Wright reported in his account. With the way to safety opened, the soldiers and Navajo trackers ran toward their waiting horses but were pinned down by the fire of the Apaches who had taken cover in surrounding rocks.

Again Cpl. Greaves acted. He raced for the horses while firing, and fatally wounded two of the attacking Apaches. He made his way back to his companions with the mounts. The cavalrymen were able to escape, taking eleven (one account says 6) of the Indian horses with them. In the encounter, five of the Apaches were killed and several wounded: not one of the cavalry patrol was seriously injured.














For Cpl. Greaves' action, which was credited with saving the lives of his companions that day, Greaves, was awarded the nation's highest military honor and became the first "Buffalo Soldier" stationed at Fort Bayard to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, which was issued on June 26, 1879. He was the sixth of 19 Buffalo Soldiers to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.

During his years in the army, Clinton Greaves was able reach the rank of Sergeant.






















Sergeant Clinton died on August 18, 1906, at age 51. He is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio.



















For 92 years, this American Hero had no grave stone. Mr. Raymond Albert, who belongs to the Medal of Honor Historical Society, found out about this and on June 13, 1998, a government issued stone was dedicated to this hero.


The Congressional Medal of Honor
CLINTON  GREAVES,

Rank and organization:
Corporal,
Company C,
9th U.S. Cavalry.

Place and date:
At Florida Mountains, New Mexico,
January 24, 1877.

Entered service at:
Prince Georges County, Marylandd.

Birth:
Madison County, Virginiaa.

Date of issue:
June 26, 1879.

















Citation:

Cpl. Clinton Greaves , Indian Campaigns- for gallantry in hand-to-hand fighting with Indians at Florida Mountains, New Mexico, June 24, 1877.

While part of a small detachment to persuade a band of renegade Apache Indians to surrender, his group was surrounded. Cpl. Greaves in the center of the savage hand-to-hand fighting, managed to shoot and bash a gap through the swarming Apaches, permitting his companions to break free .