Charles Albert Varnum (June 21, 1849 – February 26, 1936) was a career
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
officer. He was most noted as the commander of the scouts for
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...
in the
Little Bighorn Campaign (of which he was the last of the surviving officers to die of natural causes) during the
Great Sioux War
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota people, Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of t ...
, as well as receiving the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
for his actions in a
conflict at Drexel Mission following the
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...
.
Biography
Varnum was born to a prominent military family in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
. He was the son of
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
John Varnum, who relocated to
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, and became a political and civic figure. Varnum was appointed as a Florida cadet to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
and graduated June 14, 1872. He ranked 17th in a class of 57. Given the
brevet rank of
second lieutenant, he went to the
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...
of the
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau
As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
to join Company A of the
U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment. He was involved in a number of expeditions and excursions of the regiment, including the
Yellowstone Expedition (1873) and
Black Hills Expedition (1874). He and the regiment were stationed at
Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...
.
With the eruption of the latest round of the
Sioux Wars
The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wy ...
in 1876, Varnum accompanied the 7th Cavalry as it proceeded overland from Fort Lincoln to the Yellowstone River, and then to the mouth of the Rosebud. Varnum was in charge of the scouts, who were civilians, army personnel,
Crow Indians, and
Arikaree Indians. His duty was to delegate scouting missions and coordinate the resulting reports. During the Little Bighorn expedition, Varnum and the
Crow scouts in his unit and a few Arikaras discovered the location of a huge Indian village with hundreds of lodges.
Arikara scout Red Star carried the news to Custer
[Libby Orin G.: The Arikara Narrative of the Campaign against the hostile Dakotas, June, 1876. Collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Vol. VI (1920). Bismarck.] and brought him up to a prominent point known as the Crow's Nest to show him the enormousness of the encampment, but Custer could not spot what his scouts were seeing. Ignoring their warning, Custer developed a battle plan and decided to attack. Some of Varnum's Indian scouts departed, while others began chanting their death songs and adorning themselves for battle. Several would die in the subsequent fighting. Varnum accompanied the troops of
Marcus Reno
Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War a ...
and
Frederick Benteen
Frederick William Benteen (August 24, 1834 – June 22, 1898) was a military officer who first fought during the American Civil War. He was appointed to commanding ranks during the Indian Campaigns and Great Sioux War against the Lakota peopl ...
and survived the battle.
Varnum served as Regimental Quartermaster from November 1876 through October 1879. In 1877, he participated in the
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...
, fighting at the
Battle of Canyon Creek, as well as the
Battle of Bear Paw
The Battle of Bear Paw (also sometimes called Battle of the Bears Paw or Battle of the Bears Paw Mountains) was the final engagement of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Following a running fight from North Central Idaho, north central Idaho Territor ...
from September 30,–October 4,. He continued to serve on the
frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary.
Australia
The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...
in various forts and married Mary Alice Moore (1865–1935). They had three children, one of whom died two weeks after being born in 1889.
In 1890, Captain Varnum commanded Company B of the 7th Cavalry at the
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...
on December 29, against the aging Sioux Chief
Big Foot and some 350 of his followers. The following day, during the
Drexel Mission Fight at White Clay Creek, his heroics helped ensure a safe withdrawal for his troops. For his action, he received the Army
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
for Most Distinguished Gallantry on September 22, 1897.
Varnum was promoted to
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
on February 1, 1901, then transferred to the
4th Cavalry and promoted to
lieutenant colonel in April 1905. He sailed under orders for the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
from San Francisco in September 1905. Varnum received a
Silver Star Citation for gallantry in action. He was retired from the
Regular Army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:
* a ...
for disability on October 31, 1907, continued serving with Idaho militia troops for another year. After leaving active service, Varnum was a professor of military science at the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...
, and from 1912, he served as a recruiting officer in the reserves. He was recalled to active duty and promoted to
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
as finance and disbursing officer at
Fort Mason
Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense site a ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He retired again on April 8, 1919.
When he died in 1936 at
Letterman Hospital in the
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...
at the age of 86, Varnum was the last surviving officer of those who had participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, although not the last surviving combatant. He was buried in the
San Francisco National Cemetery.
On July 24, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin
Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star General (United States), general who served as the 28th United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025.
Before ...
announced a review of twenty Medals of Honor awarded for the
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...
, including Captain Varnum's, although Varnum's award was, unlike the other nineteen soldiers listed for review, for actions at the Drexel Mission Fight on White Clay Creek the day after Wounded Knee.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Captain, Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At White Clay Creek, S. Dak., December 30, 1890. Entered service at: Pensacola, Fla. Birth: Troy, N.Y. Date of issue: September 22, 1897.
Citation:
While executing an order to withdraw, seeing that a continuance of the movement would expose another troop of his regiment to being cut off and surrounded, he disregarded orders to retire, placed himself in front of his men, led a charge upon the advancing Indians, regained a commanding position that had just been vacated, and thus insured a safe withdrawal of both detachments without further loss.
See also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own ...
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars
The Indian Wars is the name used by the United States government to describe a series of military conflicts between the United States and Indigenous peoples from 1776 to 1898.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor was created during the American ...
References
*Varnum, Charles A., ''Custer's Chief of Scouts: The Reminiscences of Charles A. Varnum Including His Testimony at the Reno Court of Inquiry.'' Reprinted by University of Nebraska Press, September 1987. .
External links
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Varnum, Charles
1849 births
1936 deaths
United States Military Academy alumni
Military personnel from Troy, New York
United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel
People of the Great Sioux War of 1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Pine Ridge Campaign
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor
American military personnel of the Philippine–American War
Recipients of the Silver Star
University of Maine faculty
United States Army personnel of World War I
United States Army colonels
Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery