Otto Emil Voit (February 5, 1845 – June 1, 1906) was a

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 ...

soldier 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

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

Biography

Voit was a "saddler" (

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

-maker) with the U.S. Army. He joined the army from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

in December 1864. He deserted his unit at a Missouri River post on February 21, 1866, and subsequently reenlisted in Company H of

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 ...

's Seventh Cavalry in December 1866 using the alias Frank May. On December 15, 1873, he surrendered as a deserter and received clemency by Presidential proclamation. Voit was wounded in the Reno-Benteen hilltop action at the Little Bighorn. He was issued the Medal of Honor on October 5, 1878, for his actions during the battle, specifically for providing covering fire for his comrades who went to get water for the wounded on June 25, 1876. Voit was discharged in 1898 as Saddler Sergeant at Fort Grant,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

.Armed Forces Journal, Vol. 35, 16 Apr 1898, p.625. He died at age 61 and was buried in Saint Stephens Cemetery in Louisville.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Saddler, Company H, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Little Big Horn, Mont., June 25, 1876. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Germany. Date of issue: October 5, 1878. Citation:

Volunteered with George Geiger, Charles Windolph, and Henry Mechlin to hold an exposed position standing erect on the brow of the hill facing the Little Big Horn River. They fired constantly in this manner for more than 20 minutes diverting fire and attention from another group filling canteens of water that were desperately needed.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voit, Otto 1845 births 1906 deaths American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States Military personnel from Freiburg im Breisgau People from the Grand Duchy of Baden United States Army soldiers German-born Medal of Honor recipients American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References