Julien Edmund Victor Gaujot | |
---|---|
Born | Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan, U.S. | October 22, 1874
Died | April 7, 1938 63) Williamson, West Virginia, U.S. | (aged
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1898–1934 |
Rank | Colonel |
Unit | Troop K, 1st U.S. Cavalry |
Battles/wars | Mexican Border Spanish–American War Philippine–American War Cuban Pacification World War I |
Awards | Medal of Honor |
Relations | Antoine A.M. Gaujot (brother) |
Julien Edmond Victor Gaujot (October 22, 1874 - in 1938) was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient.
He was the brother of Antoine. The Gaujot brothers are one of the seven sets of brothers that received the Medal of Honor and the only pair to receive the Medal for actions in different military actions. Both brothers also attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Julien Edmond Victor Gaujot was born October 22, 1874, in Eagle Harbor, Michigan.
His father was a French-born mining engineer when he emigrated to Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. While there he met and married Susan Ellen McGuigan. The family eventually moved to Michigan and after that lived for a while in Ontario, Canada, before moving to Lynchburg, Virginia. In 1877 Julien's father, Ernest Gaujot, traveled to Japan to serve as general superintendent of mines.
In 1894, the family moved to what would become Mingo County, West Virginia.
In 1889 Julien enrolled in the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) but left in 1890 before graduating and worked as a civil engineer.
Julien Gaujot joined the West Virginia volunteers in May 1898 as a 2nd Lieutenant of the 2nd West Virginia Volunteers. He was commissioned as a First Lieutenant of the 10th Cavalry Regiment (a Buffalo Soldier regiment) in February 1901. [1] In 1902, Gaujot was charged and convicted by a general courts martial for using the "water cure" on a Filipino insurgent, for which he was suspended three months and docked $50 for each month. [2]
Julien's brother, Antoine Gaujot, received the Medal of Honor for actions on December 19, 1899, as a United States Army corporal at the Battle of Paye near Mateo during the Philippine–American War. Julien, a regular army officer, became obsessed with his brother's achievement. Referring to Antoine, Julien said "He wears it for a watch fob, the damn civilian, I got to get me one of them things for myself if I bust." Julien Gaujot received the medal for actions on the Mexican border on April 13, 1911. He is the only soldier ever awarded the Medal for actions of a peacekeeping nature. In Douglas, Arizona, stray bullets from fighting among Mexican rebels and government troops caused American casualties. Infuriated, Julien mounted his beloved horse "Old Dick", and rode across the border into the teeth of the battle. He moved between the two groups of belligerents for an hour under heavy fire, eventually securing the safe passage of the Mexican government soldiers and American prisoners over the border to the United States. His actions saved five Americans taken prisoner by the Mexicans, 25 Mexican government soldiers, an unrecorded number of Mexican rebels, and averted further danger to those on the U.S. side of the border.
General Leonard Wood later said in referring to the incident that Julien's action warranted "either a court martial or a Medal of Honor." Wood also overrode the recommendations of the Mobile Army Division of the General Staff as well as the Army's Judge Advocate General, who recommended that Gaujot was ineligible for the Medal of Honor due to the legal requirement that the qualifying act be "performed in action." [3] That Medal was approved November 23, 1912 and awarded by President William Howard Taft at the White House the following month, in one of the earliest White House presentations of the Medal of Honor. Julien served in the United States Army from 1898 to 1934 and participated in five major engagements: the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Cuban Pacification, Mexican Border, and World War I.
He retired from the Regular Army in 1934 with the rank of colonel.
COL Gaujot's awards include the Medal of Honor and two campaign stars on his service ribbon for action in two major World War I offensives.
Medal of Honor | |
World War I Victory Medal | |
Army of Cuban Pacification Medal | |
Philippine Campaign Medal | |
Mexican Service Medal |
General Orders: Date of Issue: November 23, 1912
"The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For extraordinary heroism in action on 13 April 1911, while serving with Troop K, 1st U.S. Cavalry, in action at Aqua Prieta, Mexico. Captain Gaujot crossed the field of fire to obtain the permission of the rebel commander to receive the surrender of the surrounded forces of Mexican Federals and escort such forces, together with five Americans held as prisoners, to the American line.
/S/ WILLIAM H. TAFT" [4]
Julien died in Radford, Virginia on April 7, 1938, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. [5]
Buffalo Soldiers were United States Army regiments composed exclusively of African Americans soldiers, formed during the 19th century to serve on the American frontier. On September 21, 1866, the 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" was purportedly given to the regiments by the American Indian tribes who fought against them during the American Indian Wars, and the term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American regiments that were established in 1866, including the 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Regiment and 38th Infantry Regiment.
Thomas Ward Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War. A younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, he served as his aide at the Battle of Little Bighorn against the Lakota and Cheyenne in the Montana Territory. The two of them, along with their younger brother, Boston Custer, were killed in the overwhelming defeat of United States forces.
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth, a United States Army installation north of Leavenworth, Kansas. It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early as 1844, and was one of the twelve original United States National Cemeteries designated by Abraham Lincoln. The cemetery is the resting place of nine Medal of Honor recipients, but most are the less famous casualties of war. It was named for Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth, who was re-interred there in 1902 from Woodland Cemetery in Delhi, New York. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it occupies approximately 36.1 acres (14.6 ha) and was site to over 22,00 interments, as of 2020. It is maintained by Leavenworth National Cemetery.
The Gaujot brothers, Antoine August Michel Gaujot and Julien E. Gaujot, are one of the five sets of brothers who have received the Medal of Honor and the only pair to have been so honored for actions in different actions. Both brothers attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, but neither were graduates of the university.
Henry Johnson was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration – the Medal of Honor – for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
The 1st West Virginia Cavalry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although it started slowly, it became one of the most active and effective of the West Virginia Civil War regiments—and had 14 Medal of Honor recipients, the most for any West Virginia regiment during the war. It was originally called the 1st Virginia Cavalry, not to be confused with the Confederate 1st Virginia Cavalry. Some reports added "Union," "Loyal" or "West" when identifying this regiment. After the Unionist state of West Virginia was officially admitted to the Union in 1863, the regiment became the 1st West Virginia Cavalry Regiment. The National Park Service identifies it as the 1st Regiment, West Virginia Cavalry.
Thomas Boyne was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
Clinton Greaves was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
George Jordan was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
Thomas Shaw was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration – the Medal of Honor – for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
Adam Paine, or Adam Payne, was a Black Seminole who served as a United States Army Indian Scout and received America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.
George Henry Wanton was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Spanish–American War. Wanton and three of his fellow Buffalo Soldiers were the last black servicemen to be presented the Medal of Honor for more than half a century.
Smith Larimer was a corporal in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, Union Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions at the Battle of Sayler's Creek in the American Civil War.
Henry Capehart was a surgeon and officer in the U.S. Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for saving the life of a drowning soldier while under fire at Greenbrier River, West Virginia, on May 22, 1864.
Charles E. Capehart (1833–1911) was an officer in the U.S. Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for action following the Battle of Gettysburg on July 4, 1863.
Charles H. Marsh was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during a skirmish in the Valley Campaigns of 1864.
Levi Shoemaker was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States and is presented "in the name of the United States Congress." It is often, not strictly correctly, referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor.
William Laing Heermance was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.