22nd Infantry Indian Fighter Mott Hooton signed document.
Excellent 1871 document signed boldly by Hooton as a 1st Lt. in the 22nd Infantry.
Hooton took part in one of the more famous incidents with Sitting Bull in the Centennial Campaign of 1876-
"After separating from General Crook, General Terry with Col. Miles moved north up Dry Creek, east and then south again to eventually reached Glendive, Montana Territory, on the Yellowstone River where the troops established winter headquarters. Col. Miles equipped his troops with winter gear and established a temporary base at the mouth of the Tongue River.
Troops under Col. Elwell S. Otis escorted a train of more than 100 supply wagons that had been dispatched from a post on Glendive Creek, Montana Territory, to supply Miles's troops. On October 11, Sioux warriors ambushed the slow moving wagon train near Spring Creek, killing several mules and temporarily driving off the wagons. Undaunted, the wagon train tried again to reach Miles, but the Indians again attacked it along Spring Creek on October 15. This time, the wagon crews and their escort managed to fend off their attackers and continue their passage.
Document is in fine condition, with wear as shown in the scan.
$175.00 plus shipping
Civil War Union Army Officer. The son of Mott Hooton Sr. and Ana Eliza Carpenter Hooton, he enlisted in the Union Army on June 4, 1861, being mustered in as 1st Sergeant of Company A, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves. Only six days later he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, being commissioned on June 10, 1861 (serving initially under Captain Henry McIntire). On October 16, 1861 he was promoted again to Captain, and assigned to command Company A. He served in this duty through the battles of the 1862 Peninsular Campaign, fighting in the Battle of Gaines Mill. At the August 1862 Second Battle of Bull Run he was severely wounded, and was kept from active service recovering through to the next Spring. He would go on to participate in the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, the November 1863 Mine Run Campaign, and the Spring 1864 Overland Campaign, where he was wounded again at Bethesda Church, Virginia. Honorably mustered out on June 13, 1864 upon the expiration of his term of enlistment, he received a brevet of Major, US Volunteers on March 13, 1865 for "gallant and meritorious service in the Wilderness Campaign".
On February 23, 1866 he joined the United States Regular Army, being commissioned a 1st Lieutenant, and assigned to the 13th Regular Infantry regiment. His subsequent army career would go on to include a transfer to the 31st Regular Infantry (September 21, 1866), a transfer to the 22nd Regular Infantry (May 15, 1869) and a promotion to Captain on August 5, 1872. He would serve the majority of the next thirty years on the frontier in posts in places like Montana, Colorado and Texas (six of those years were spent stationed Fort Lewis in Durago, Colorado). On September 15th and 16th, 1876, while in command of Company K, he led his men in a running battle with Sioux Indians at Spring Creek, Montana as part of a battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ewell S. Otis. His gallantry over the two days would see him rewarded with a brevet of Major, US Regular Army on February 27, 1890.
Promoted to full Major and transferred to the 25th Regular Infantry on May 1, 1896, his career saw a sudden rapid advancement when the Spanish-American War began. On October 4, 1898 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th Regular Infantry, and led his men in Cuba for nine months. On February 2, 1901 he was advanced to Colonel of the 28th Regular Infantry, and served in the Philippine Islands. He was promoted to Brigadier General on April 15, 1902, and was retired by law the next day. After his retirement he traveled extensively, and passed away in Maine in 1920.
Burial:
Oaklands Cemetery
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania, USA
Created by: Russ Dodge
