"Aquilla Coonrod
Hardly a household name, Aquilla Coonrod never achieved the fameo f this fellow Williams County Medal of Honor recipient.
But facts about Mr. Coonrod's life have been brought to light,tha nks to research by local historian Richard Cooley that wasfeatureed in t he April 1991 Williams County Historical Societynewsletter.
Mr. Coonrod was the son of early Springfield Township settlersHul da and Woolery Coonrod--the first white child born withint thepresent l imits of Williams County.
Aquilla's mother died less than a year after his birth. Hisfathe r remarried, wedding Mary Coy in 1835. After Woolery died in1847, Aqu illa lived with his step-mother.
When the Civil Wr opened, Aquilla was among the fist in WilliamsC ounty to join the Union army, enlisting for 90 days service with the14 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on April23, 1861. he later served withthe 4 8th and 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry units, rising to the rankof capt ain.
Aquilla resigned his commision in May 1864, and resumed farmingi n Pulaski Townwhip, and seven years later moved to Bryan and wasemploy ed at the Hub and Spoke factory.
In 1873 again feeling the summons 'of adventuresome militarylife, ' Mr. Cooley wrote, 'Aquilla entered the 7th Cavalry commandedby Col. G eorge Armstrong Custer - Custer was only a brevet general.While servin g under Custer, Aquilla was sergeant and regimentalstandard-bearer. E ventually Sergeant Coonrod entered Company C ofthe 5th Regiment US Inf antry, commanded by General Nelson Miles.'
Sgt. Coonrod was involved in battles against Indian braves ledby C hief Crazy Horse from October 1876 to January 1877. Forgallantry in t he Battle of Cedar Creek, Montana, he was awarded theMedal of Honor on A pril 27, 1877.
Pinning the medal on the sergeant's chest was none other thanGen. W .T. Sherman, leader of the famed Civil War March to the Seathrough Geo rgia.
Later Sgt Coonrod was charged with escorting captured ChiefJoseph o f the Nez Perces to Fort Buford, Dakota Territory.
'Up to the time of his death,' Mr. Cooley wrote, 'Aquilla livedth e dangerous life of a soldier and died a soldier. On May 15, 1884,whi le conducting US Paymaster Major Whipple from Glendive, Montana toFort B uford, Acquilla was slain by highwaymen. The payroll masterwas carryi ng $20,000 pay for the soldiers at Fort Buford.'
Major Whipple described the shoot-out that claimed Aquilla's life:S ergeant Conrad (sic) and the driver were on the front seat whileothers r ode on the wagon immediately behind. At about 2:30 p.m. aswe were dri ving quietly up through a deep ravine road about fourmiles this side o f Barne's ranch. I heard rapid firing. I lookedout and saw Sergeant C onrad firing to the left at a party of maskedmen, seven in number, who h ad opened a murderous fire upon us withouta word of warning.
Three of the seven men were firing directly into our ambulance,wh ich fire was returned by the Sergeant in the bravest and mostgallant m anner. At an early stage of the action, however, hereceived two morta l wounds, but continued to fire until the loss ofblood so weakened him t hat he could no longer hold his rifle. TheSergeant died in my arms ab out 20 minutes after being shot.'
Aquilla was given a military funeral and buried at Fort Buford,ND . Later, Aquilla's remains were re-interred at Custer NationalCemeter y."
He served as a Captain with Co I, 125th OH Infantry in the Civil War.
From notes by Connie Coy Rice:
Indian Campaigns Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served asa F irst Sergeant in the United States Army. He was awarded the Medalof Ho nor as a Sergeant in Company C, 5th U.S. Infantry for actionbetween Oc tober 1876 and January 1877 at Cedar Creek, etc. Montana.His citation r eads "Gallantry in action." (bio by: Don Morfe)
Rank and Organization: Sergeant, Company C, 5th U.S. Infantry. Placean d Date: At Cedar Creek, etc., Mont., October 1876 to January 1877.Ente red Service At: Byran, Ohio. Birth: Williams County, Ohio. Dateof Issu e: 27 April 1877. Sergeant, Company C, 5th U.S. Infantry.Place and Dat e: At Cedar Creek, etc., Mont., October 1876 to January1877. Entered S ervice At: Byran, Ohio. Birth: Williams County, Ohio.Date of Issue: 27 A pril 1877.
There is a lot of information about Aquillia as to his militaryservice .
The book by Ella has a picture of the original grave marker at Ft.Bufo rd, North Dakota and another picture as to where he is buriednow. He i s buried at Custer National Cemetery. #372. Unless they havemoved him s ince she wrote the book.
http://www.state.nd.us/hist/buford/buford.htm
Reading the book again it states that Susannah (Gier) Coonrod diedprob ably in Chicago about 1868-1870. After her death the childrenwent to l ive with her sister Nancy in Tiffin Township, DefianceCounty.
Said he stayed in the Army. The Indian Wars in 1880's. He served underG eorge,but was with the 5th under Gen. Miles from 1873-1878, thusmissin g the Custer massacre of July 6, 1876.
Aquilla was married to Mary S. Brummit of Murfreesboro, Tennessee butt here is no recorded record, however they were considered man andwife f rom February 3, 1870-August 1881. The book also states that inAugust 1 881 Aquila's marriage fell apart.
