First Sergeant Augustus Walley, A Soldier's Story
.png "A Soldier’s Story: First Sergeant Augustus Walley – Western Frontier to the Philippines")
First Sergeant Augustus Walley, A Soldier's Story
First Sergeant Augustus Walley was born enslaved on March 10, 1856, in Reisterstown, Maryland. After emancipation, he worked as a laborer before enlisting in the U.S. Army in November 1878. Assigned to the 9th Cavalry Regiment, one of the famed Buffalo Soldier units, he was deployed to the New Mexico Territory to fight in Victorio’s War.
On August 16, 1881, during the Battle of Cuchillo Negro Creek, Walley braved intense gunfire to rescue two fellow soldiers. His extraordinary courage earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded on October 1, 1890.
In 1883, he transferred to the 10th Cavalry, continuing frontier service in the Arizona Territory and throughout the Great Plains, protecting settlers and maintaining peace across an often-volatile landscape.
When the Spanish–American War erupted, Walley deployed with the 10th Cavalry to Cuba in June 1898. He fought alongside Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Battles of Las Guasimas, El Caney, and San Juan Hill. At San Juan Hill, he once again rushed into danger to save a wounded officer. Though recommended for a second Medal of Honor, he received a Silver Star instead, a recognition of valor that added to an already distinguished record.
In December 1898, he and the 10th Cavalry were sent to the Philippines to fight in the Philippine–American War, where they remained until 1902. Walley then returned to the American Southwest and retired from the Army in 1907, settling in Wyoming before moving to Butte, Montana, to work as a farrier.
When the United States entered World War I, the sixty-two-year-old veteran once again volunteered for service. Reporting to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, in 1918, he trained young soldiers until the war’s end in 1919.
After more than four decades of military service, First Sergeant Augustus Walley returned home to Baltimore. He passed away on April 9, 1938, and rests at St. Luke’s Cemetery in Reisterstown, Maryland, a soldier whose courage, duty, and devotion spanned generations of American history.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller based in Tontitown, Arkansas.
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
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