Wilber Elliott Wilder

Wilber Wilder
Wilder in 1918 as commander of the 168th Infantry Brigade, 84th Division.
Born(1857-08-18)August 18, 1857
Atlas, Michigan
DiedJanuary 30, 1952(1952-01-30) (aged 94)
Governors Island, New York
Place of burial
Fairlawn Cemetery, Ridgefield, Connecticut
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army seal United States Army
Years of service1877–1920
Rank Brigadier General
Service number0-13490
Unit4th Cavalry Regiment
Commands5th Cavalry Regiment
84th Infantry Division
Battles / warsIndian Wars
Spanish–American War
Pancho Villa Expedition
World War I
AwardsMedal of Honor

Wilber Elliott Wilder (August 18, 1857 – January 30, 1952) was a United States Army Brigadier General who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for rescuing a wounded soldier under heavy fire.[1]

Education and army career

Brigadier General Wilder with his staff of the 168th Inf. Brigade, including his son, France October 1918

Wilber Elliott Wilder graduated from West Point in June, 1877, when he was just short of 21 years old. In 1886, he was a key figure in negotiating the surrender of the Apache chief Geronimo.[2][3][4] While an Army Captain, he served as acting superintendent of Yellowstone National Park from March 15, 1899 - June 22, 1899.[5] He also served in the Spanish–American War, the Pancho Villa Expedition, and World War I. From 1913 to 1916, he was the commander of Fort Myer.

Personal life

He married Violet Blair Martin (1860-1919), of the prominent Throop-Martin family of "Willowbrook" near Auburn, New York, on April 16, 1884. Violet's brother Edward Sanford Martin (1856-1939) was a writer and her mother, Cornelia Williams Martin (1818-1899) was a prominent social activist; her sister Emily (1846-1870) had married General Emory Upton. The Wilders had two sons - Throop Martin Wilder (1884-1956) and Wilbur Elliott Jr. (1888-1961) - and three daughters - Sylvia (1887-1938), who married British diplomat Alvary Gascoigne, Cornelia (1890-1962), and Violet (1893-1986).[2] After Violet's death, Wilder remarried in 1921 to widow Rose Dimond Phinney Grosvenor (1857-1923) and then to Laura Williams Merritt (1871-1951), widow of General Wesley Merritt. He outlived them both and, at the time of his death, was the oldest surviving graduate of the Academy. He died in Governors Island, New York but was residing in Ridgefield, Connecticut at the time.[6]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 4th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Horseshoe Canyon, N. Mex., 23 April 1882. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Birth: Atlas, Mich. Date of issue: 17 August 1896.

Citation: Assisted, under a heavy fire, to rescue a wounded comrade.[1]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
  1. ^ a b "Medal of Honor recipients Indian Wars Period". Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  2. ^ a b "Wilber Elliott Wilder". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  3. ^ Gatewood, Charles B. (2009). Lt. Charles Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoir. Lincoln, NE: Bison Books. pp. 241, 257. ISBN 978-0-8032-1884-0.
  4. ^ Thrapp, Dan L. (1979). Conquest of Apacheria. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 356. ISBN 0-8061-1286-7.
  5. ^ "Historic Listing of National Park Service Officials". National Park Service. 2000. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  6. ^ "Obituaries". Time. 1952-02-11. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
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