Claron A. Windus

Claron A. Windus
Born	(1850-01-10)January 10, 1850 Janesville, Wisconsin
Died	October 18, 1927(1927-10-18) (aged 77)
Place of burial	Masonic Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	Union Army United States Army
Years of service	1864–1865; 1866–1871; 1898–1899
Rank	Captain
Battles / wars	American Civil War American Indian Wars Spanish–American War
Awards	Medal of Honor

Claron Augustus Windus (January 10, 1850 – October 18, 1927) served in the United States Army during the American Civil War as a drummer boy, American Indian Wars as a bugler and the Spanish–American War as a captain. He received the Medal of Honor for bravery during a battle with the Kiowa Indians in 1870.

Biography

Windus was born on January 10, 1850, in Janesville, Wisconsin.[1] He served as a drummer boy during the American Civil War.[2] Still under age, Windus lied about his age in order to join the 6th U.S. Cavalry Regiment.[2] He received the Medal of Honor for bravery while serving as a bugler during a battle with the Kiowa in northern Texas on July 12, 1870.[2]

Windus was mustered out of the army in 1871 and became a deputy sheriff at Brackettville, Texas.[2] In 1877, Windus shot and killed a fellow Medal of Honor recipient Adam Paine,[1] a Black Seminole, whom Windus was attempting to arrest as a murder suspect.[2][3] This is the only known instance of one Medal of Honor recipient killing another.[4] During the following 20 years, Windus was a customs inspector and deputy United States marshal.[2]

In 1898, Windus became a volunteer commissioned officer and served as a captain in Company I of the 9th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Spanish–American War.[2]

Claron A. Windus died at age 77 and was buried at the Masonic Cemetery in Brackettville, Texas.[5]

Medal of Honor

His award citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Bugler Claron Windus, United States Army, for gallantry in action on 12 July 1870, while serving with Company L, 6th U.S. Cavalry, at Wichita River, Texas.[6]

[1]

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars

Notes

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History. Medal of Honor Recipients Indian Wars Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 23, 2011
2. Glasrud, ed., Bruce A. Brothers to the Buffalo Soldiers: Perspectives on the African American Militia and Volunteers, 1865–1917. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8262-1904-6. p. 192
3. Glasrud spells the subject's name as "Payne."
4. Undisputed claim.
5. Congressional Medal of Honor Society
6. "Claron Windus | Indian Campaigns | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

References

• Glasrud, ed., Bruce A. Brothers to the Buffalo Soldiers: Perspectives on the African American Militia and Volunteers, 1865–1917. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8262-1904-6.
• U.S. Army Center of Military History. Medal of Honor Recipients Indian Wars Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 23, 2011.