Clinton Greaves (August 12, 1855 – August 18, 1906) was a Buffalo Soldier in the

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 ...

and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—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 the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

Biography

Greaves was born in

Madison County, Virginia Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. Its county seat is Madison. History Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County. The c ...

on August 12, 1855. He joined the Army from

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

in September 1872, and by January 24, 1877, was serving as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in Company C of the

9th Cavalry Regiment The 9th Cavalry Regiment is a parent cavalry regiment of the United States Army. Historically, it was one of the Army's four segregated African-American regiments and was part of what was known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The regiment saw combat d ...

. On that day, Greaves was part of a detachment which participated in an engagement in the

Florida Mountains The Florida Mountains are a small long, mountain range in New Mexico. The mountains lie in southern Luna County, New Mexico, Luna County about southeast of Deming, New Mexico, Deming, and north of the Chihuahua (state), state of Chihuahua, M ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

against

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

. The engagement started as a negotiation, but turned violent. Greaves shot his carbine until he was out of rounds, and then used his carbine as a club. Five Apaches died and Greaves' group escaped through the opening Greaves made. For his actions during the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor two years later, on June 26, 1879. Greaves served in the army for over 20 years, and had reached the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

upon his discharge in 1893. After his army service, he worked as a civilian for the Quartermaster Department.Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor
/ref> He died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

at age 51 and was buried at

Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio) Green Lawn Cemetery is an active historic private rural cemetery located in Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. Organized in 1848 and opened in 1849, the cemetery was the city's premier burying ground in the 1800s and beyond. An American Civil Wa ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company C, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Florida Mountains, N. Mex., January 24, 1877. Entered service at: Prince George's County, Md. Birth: Madison County, Va. Date of issue: June 26, 1879. Citation:

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.

Namesake

Camp Greaves, a US Army installation located near the

Demilitarized Zone A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between states, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or boundary ...

(DMZ) in the Republic of Korea (

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

), is named in honor of Sergeant (SGT) Greaves.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, Clinton 1855 births 1906 deaths American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Madison County, Virginia United States Army soldiers Buffalo Soldiers American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at Green Lawn Cemetery (Columbus, Ohio)

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

Namesake

See also

References