George   Lloyd

GEORGE LLOYD (1843 ~ 1892). Medal of Honor Recipient George Lloyd was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1843. He joined the 7th Cavalry in Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas, on March 21, 1869.

On June 25, 1876, he was promoted to Corporal, taking the place of a soldier who died at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Lloyd had been at the battle with Company G, which fought under a Major Reno. In 1879, Lloyd was promoted to Sergeant and transferred to Company I, eventually becoming First Sergeant of that company.

On December 29, 1890, Lloyd participated in the incident at Wounded Knee, during the Pine Ridge Campaign in South Dakota. The 7th Cavalry's commander, Colonel James W. Forsyth, was ordered to disarm a band of Lakota led by Chief Big Foot on their way to Nebraska. Troops from the 7th Cavalry met Big Foot's band on December 28 and prepared to make camp near Wounded Knee Creek that night. A census was taken of the Lakota and recorded their numbers as 120 men and 230 women and children. The next day, the rest of the 7th Cavalry arrived and encircled the Lakota and positioned a battery of cannon facing the camp.

Forsyth announced his intentions to march the captured Lakota to Omaha, Nebraska, after all weapons were surrendered. Soldiers confiscated anything in the Lakota camp which could be used as a weapon, from firearms to tent stakes and hatchets, and when that was completed they searched the Lakota men themsleves. During the search, one Lakota man refused to surrender his gun and it discharged. Almost immediatly, U.S. soldiers fired into the encampment, though many soldiers were still attempting to disarm the Lakota. Lakota men scrambeled to get their confiscated weapons in order to defend themselves and open an escape route for the women and children. After five minutes of intense and confused fighting, including the use of cannon, the firing stopped. The incident at Wounded Knee is considered a massacre by many historians, as few Lakota were armed and most were women and children.

In all, 146 Lakota were killed, including Big Foot, who, severly ill with pnemonia, had been resting in an Army ambulance when the firing began. All of the victims were buried in a mass grave after a snowstorm subsided. A total of 20 Medals of Honor were awareded to members of the 7th Cavalry for their actions at Wounded Knee, and all have been the subject of much controversy.

Sergeant Lloyd was wounded in the right lung during the fighting, and was presented with a Congressional Medal of Honor on April 16, 1891, for his actions at Wounded Knee. On September 12, 1892, Lloyd fell down a flight of stairs at Fort Riley, Kansas, breaking several ribs. Another accident took place on November 29, 1892, when his horse bolted and threw him against a tree, and he broke another rib.George Lloyd committed suicide on December 17, 1892. He is buried at the Post Cemetery at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Bibliography: "Above and Beyond:The Medal of Honor in Texas." Capitol Visitors Center, State Preservation Board of Texas; Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles; Benson, Kit and Morgan. "Sgt. George Lloyd Loyd." Find A Grave.net, http://www.findagrave.net/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr?&GRid=6050746&pt=George%20Loyd.