Emanuel Stance

Emanuel Stance
Born 1843
Carroll Parish, Louisiana
Died December 25, 1887 (aged 43–44)
Nebraska
Place of burial Fort McPherson National Cemetery
Maxwell, Nebraska
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1866 - 1887
Rank First Sergeant
Unit 9th Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars American Indian Wars
Awards Medal of Honor

Emanuel Stance (1843 – December 25, 1887) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Indian Wars of the western United States.

Stance joined the Army in October 1866, and was promoted to Sergeant just a few months later. At the time of his actions, Stance was serving in Company F of the 9th Cavalry Regiment at Fort McKavett. On May 20, 1870, he was sent with a patrol to find the Apaches who had kidnapped Herman Lehmann and his younger brother, Willie, four days earlier. Stance and his men located the raiding party near Kickapoo Springs, about fourteen miles north of Fort McKavett, and opened fire. The Apaches abandoned their stolen horses and fled, enabling Willie Lehmann to escape during the chaos. For his bravery on this mission, Stance was cited for "[g]allantry on scout after Indians" and became the first African-American regular to receive the Medal of Honor a month later, on June 28, 1870.

Stance reached the rank of First Sergeant before being murdered on Christmas Eve, 1887. His body was found on the road to Crawford, Nebraska with several bullet wounds; the probable victim of his own men.[1] He was buried at Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Maxwell, Nebraska.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Kickapoo Springs, Tex., 20 May 1870. Entered service at. ------. Birth: Carroll Parish, La. Date of issue: 28 June 1870.

Citation.

Gallantry on scout after Indians.[2]

See also

  • List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars
  • Bowmaster, Patrick A. “Buffalo Soldier Emanuel Stance Received the Medal of Honor and Became a Legend.” Wild West, February 1997, 32, 34, 82-87.
  • Bowmaster, Patrick A. ed. “A Medal of Honor for a Buffalo Soldier.” Journal of the Indian Wars 1, no. 4 (2000): 119-24.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
  1. ↑ Black Valor: Buffalo Soldiers and the Medal of Honor
  2. ↑ "Indian War Period Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  • "Emanuel Stance". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  • "Emanuel Stance". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
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