George H. Eldridge

George H. Eldridge was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the American Civil War and the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the TexasIndian Wars. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry fighting the Kiowa Indians and Chief Kicking Bird at the Battle of the Little Wichita River on July 12, 1870.

George H. Eldridge was born in Sackets Harbor, New York on May 12, 1844. He later moved to Michigan where, at the start of the American Civil War, he joined the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry which along with the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry regiments, would form the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. Eldridge returned to military service years later when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Detroit and was assigned to the 6th U.S. Cavalry. He took part in campaigns against the Plains Indians during the TexasIndian Wars, most notably, against the Kiowa in the late1860s. On July 6, 1870, he was among the cavalrymen under Captain Curwen B. McClelland who left Fort Richardson to pursue renegade Indians who had seized mail from nearby Rock Station. After a 5day chase, McClellands force was ambushed at Wichita River by a force of 250 warriors under Chief Kicking Bird resulting in the Battle of the Little Wichita River. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the cavalr

Source: Wikipedia