Henry Falcott was born in
Champagne, France in 1835. He emigrated to the United States and enlisted in the
U.S. Army in
San Francisco, California. He joined Company L of the
8th U.S. Cavalry and eventually reached the rank of
first sergeant. He was part of a small cavalry force numbering 50 to 60 soldiers, primarily from Company B and Company L, who were charged with protecting settlers from
Apacheraiding parties in the
Arizona Territory during the summer and fall of 1868. Falcott and his comrades faced the Apache in fierce fighting, often being ambushed or sniped at from hidden ravines, in a campaign lasting 90 days. The following summer, Falcott and 33 other members of his regiment received the
Medal of Honor[1] for "bravery in scouts and actions against Indians" on July 24, 1869.[2][3][4][5][6][7] It was one of the largest MOH presentations at the time. Falcott died in
San Antonio, Texas on December 2, 1910, at the age of 75. He was interred at the
San Antonio National Cemetery.[8][9][10]
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company L, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: Arizona, August to October 1868. Entered service at: ------. Birth: France. Date of issue: July 24, 1869.
Citation:
Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.[11]
^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. 145)
^Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Medal of Honor recipients, 1863-1978, 96th Cong., 1st sess. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1979. (pg. 282)
^Manning, Robert, ed. Above and Beyond: A History of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. (pg. 325)
ISBN0-939526-19-0
^Hannings, Bud. A Portrait of the Stars and Stripes. Glenside, Pennsylvania: Seniram Publishing, 1988. (pg. 396)
ISBN0-922564-00-0
^Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, Pennsylvania: Westholme Publishing, 2006. (pg. 139)
ISBN1-59416-016-3
^Sterner, C. Douglas (1999).
"MOH Citation for Henry Falcott". MOH Recipients: Indian Campaigns. HomeofHeroes.com. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
^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. 326)
ISBN0-89950-666-6
^Harvey, Bill. Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. (pg. 222)
ISBN0-292-73466-2