John Wesley Powell was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for his 1869 geographic expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first official U.S. government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon.
A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s. They were instrumental in opening up the various emigrant trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains traveling over roads explored and in many cases, physically improved by the mountain men and the big fur companies, originally to serve the mule train-based inland fur trade.
Harry S. Yount was an American Civil War soldier, mountain man, professional hunter and trapper, prospector, wilderness guide and packer, seasonal employee of the United States Department of the Interior, and the first game warden in Yellowstone National Park. He was nicknamed "Rocky Mountain Harry Yount".
The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps' objectives were scientific and commercial – to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to learn how the Louisiana Purchase could be exploited economically. Aside from its military composition, the Corps' additional personnel included scouts, boatmen, and civilians.
Jean-François Hamtramck was a Canadian-born Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. In the Revolution, he participated in the Invasion of Quebec, the Sullivan Expedition, and the Siege of Yorktown. In the history of United States expansion into the Northwest Territory, Hamtramck is connected to 18th century forts at modern Midwest cities such as Steubenville, Vincennes, Fort Wayne, and Detroit. The city of Hamtramck, Michigan is named for him.
Native Americans have made up an integral part of U.S. military conflicts since America's beginning. Colonists recruited Indian allies during such instances as the Pequot War from 1634–1638, the Revolutionary War, as well as in War of 1812. Native Americans also fought on both sides during the American Civil War, as well as military missions abroad including the most notable, the Codetalkers who served in World War II. The Scouts were active in the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Including those who accompanied General John J. Pershing in 1916 on his expedition to Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. Indian Scouts were officially deactivated in 1947 when their last member retired from the Army at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. For many Indians it was an important form of interaction with European-American culture and their first major encounter with the Whites' way of thinking and doing things.
The 23rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Edward Lee Baker Jr. was an African-American United States Army Captain who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Spanish–American War. While under fire, he rescued a wounded soldier from drowning.
Alonzo John Gallishaw was a Canadian author and teacher.
Captain Allyn K. Capron was the first United States Army officer to die in the Spanish–American War.
Henry E. Hayne was a politician in South Carolina during the Reconstruction era. Born free in Charleson, South Carolina, he served in the South Carolina Senate and as Secretary of State of South Carolina in the 1870s. In 1873, he became the first student of color at the University of South Carolina medical school.
The Second Army Corps was a unit of the United States Army raised for the Spanish–American War. A defining event of the Spanish–American War was the typhoid fever epidemic of July to November 1898. The Army consequently undertook a series of mass-retreats and attempted evasions. The Typhoid Board concluded that only one of the five army corps stricken with epidemic typhoid succeeded in suppressing the disease actively, the 2nd Army Corps. In the wake of two fruitless relocations and months of casualties, commanders finally managed to impose an effective latrine-policy. A three-part strategy of draconian defecation-management, mass-disinfection, and flight received the Typhoid Board's imprimatur as the principal, recommended method for suppressing existing epidemics.
David Legge Brainard was a career officer in the United States Army. He enlisted in 1876, received his officer's commission in 1886, and served until 1919. Brainard attained the rank of brigadier general and served during World War I as U.S. military attaché in Lisbon, Portugal.
Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly was an American soldier, hunter, scout, adventurer and administrator. He served briefly in the American Civil War and then in an 1898 expedition to Alaska. He commanded a U.S. Army company in the Philippine–American War and later served in the civilian administration of the Philippines. On June 26, 1929, Yellowstone Kelly was laid to rest with full military honors overlooking the Yellowstone Valley in Billings, Montana, after an impressive funeral procession.
The 113th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 11th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment from Illinois that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In April 1861, it was formed as a three-month volunteer unit, and in July 1861 it was reorganized as a three-year unit, in which role it served until the end of the war. Two of its commanding officers were promoted to brigadier general and led major units during the war. In its first major action at Fort Donelson the regiment suffered terrible losses. The 11th Illinois also fought at Shiloh, Riggins Hill, Vicksburg, First Yazoo City, Second Yazoo City, and Fort Blakely. In April 1863, the 109th Illinois Infantry Regiment was disbanded and its enlisted men transferred into the 11th Illinois. The regiment was mustered out of service in July 1865.
Roger Enos was a colonial Vermont political and military leader during the American Revolution. In 1775, he took part in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec, and he later commanded the Vermont Militia as a major general.
Nicholas Stoner was a hunter and trapper in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. He served in the Continental Army in the American Revolution and the American forces in the War of 1812. He is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Gloversville, New York.
The 1917 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in several editions of The London Gazette in January and February.
United States Mounted Rangers, or "Battalion of Mounted Rangers", was raised in 1832. The unit operated on the frontier, but proving itself to be lacking in discipline, and being very costly, it was disbanded and replaced by a dragoon regiment in 1833.
