George Geiger - Description of Action

Description of Action

Sergeant George Geiger was one of twenty-four soldiers of the 7th Cavalry to earn the Medal of Honor during the Battle of the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, often called "Custer's Last Stand." Five men received awards for direct combat actions. Sergeant Geiger was one of nineteen men who was cited for heroism in obtaining critical water for the wounded. Along with Private Charles Windolph, Blacksmith Henry Mechlin, and Saddler Otto Voit, Sergeant Geiger took up an exposed position outside of the cavalry's line of defense in order to draw enemy fire away from fifteen other men who risked their own lives to get water from the river. For four hours the four valiant troopers, acting as both decoys and an attacking force, dodged bullets and laid down a protective covering fire. They accomplished their mission so well that not one of the men who dashed the eighty yards from the cavalry encampment to the river was killed.

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