The descendants of U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient, Captain Edmond BUTLER are wishing to ascertain the location of this missing medal. Edmond BUTLER was awarded the Medal of Honor as a result of his participation in the battle of Wolf Mountain, Montana on 8 January 1877. He served with the 5th Infantry during this iconic battle. The Battle of Wolf Mountain, also known the Battle of the Wolf Mountains, Miles’s Battle on the Tongue River and the Battle of the Butte; occurred January 8, 1877, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne during the Great Sioux War of 1876. The Northern Cheyenne called it the Battle of Belly Butte. It was fought about four miles southwest of modern-day Birney, along the Tongue River.
Medal of Honor recipient Captain Edmond BUTLER (later Lieutenant Colonel) who served with the 5th Army at the battle of Wolf Mountain.
Mary Casey, the family historian states “My Great Grandfather, Edmond Butler, from County Tipperary, Ireland, came to America and fought in our Civil War. He then fought in the Indian Wars and earned the Medal of Honor after the Battle of Wolf Mountain, Montana on January 8, 1877. He was in the Army, 5th Infantry. The Medal disappeared years ago and I have heard it is in a private collection”. Mary and her family fully appreciate that sometimes, collectors do not wish to part with their collection. They are also very grateful that these collectors treasure these medals and look after them, as if they are their own. They would be extremely grateful, just to know where the medal is? Mary went on to say, “Of course, our family would dearly love to have this medal returned to us, as our family has a very strong military tradition, we are certainly a military family. Captain Edmond Butler’s sons, grandsons, great grandsons, great great grandsons and great,great, great grandsons have fought for this country over many years and in many conflicts. The latest being in Vietnam, South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan”.
The U.S. Medal of Honor, similar to that awarded to Captain Edmond BUTLER of the 5th Army. The descendants of Edmond BUTLER believe that this missing medal may be in the hands of a private collector. They are hoping this person may be kind enough to allow them to view this medal which was awarded to their ancestor.
Mary went on to say, “The missing Medal of Honor means a lot to our family and with the military history I have included, I am sure that whoever has been caring for this medal will appreciate that we are very genuine. If you are the person who has Edmond’s medal, we would be extremely grateful even just to view the medal. If you would consider selling it back to us, that would be even better; but we fully understand your position and we respect your love for the Medal of Honor. We hope to hear from you in the near future.
The history of our great grandfather is recorded and his information is recorded in Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Butler Edmond Butler was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States as a young man. Shortly after arriving in Brooklyn, New York, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry in October 1861. He was also assigned to special duty with the inspector of volunteer units in Kansas and Missouri.
In 1862, he was sent to the New Mexico Territory and later assisted in the reconstruction of Fort Bliss after its recapture by the Union. Promoted to captain in 1864, he was eventually reassigned to Fort Wingate, New Mexico and, in 1865, commanded an expedition against the Navajos living in Canyon de Chelly. Intercepting a Navajo raiding party under Manuelito Grande, he recovered a number of sheep and other livestock taken from the neighboring Apache. After a period of 22 days, in which he had covered 720 miles, 31 Navajos were killed while another 27 were captured. He was also involved in the relocation of 3,000 Navajo to the Fort Sumner Reservation on the Pecos River.
Transferred to Kansas in 1866, he spent two years there before being assigned to the Beecher Island-site in December 1868 to bring in the bodies of the soldiers killed during the Battle of Beecher Island. Despite a large Sioux presence in the area, Butler successfully removed the bodies from the site despite being “under the fire of the main body of Sioux”.[attribution needed] However, he was unable to find the remains of Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher and Acting Surgeon J.H. Mooer, suggesting their bodies had been removed by the Sioux “probably in revenge for rifling Sioux graves on the Republican (earlier by camp followers)”.[attribution needed]
During 1869, while assigned to guard the Fort Wallace–Denver stage route, Butler volunteered to join an expedition under Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Woods against the Pawnees.
Returning to Kansas in October 1871, he was assigned to operations to control “organized land-leaguers”[attribution needed] in the southeast. Three years later, he served with Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles during the Red River Campaign and in the Black Hills War in which he led six companies in pursuit of Sitting Bull. Although Sitting Bull and Gall escaped to Canada, he was involved in the capture of eight other Sioux chieftains and around 700 lodges.
On January 8, 1877, Butler took part in the engagement against the Sioux at Wolf Mountain. In command of Company C, he was commended for his actions during the battle for “conspicuous gallantry in leading his command against greatly superior numbers of hostile Indians, strongly entrenched” and receiving a brevet of major and officially awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Later that year, he escorted Chief Joseph and other Nez Perce to Fort Buford between October and November 1877. During the early 1880s, he was stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and Fort Keogh, Montana and guarded construction parties of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He also held numerous staff positions and eventually awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel shortly before his retirement on March 9, 1891. He died in Trouville, France three years later and, his body being returned to the United States, later buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.
