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Class of 1870

Vol. III
p163 2362

(Born Ky.)

John Brown Kerrº

(Ap'd Ky.)

Born near Lexington, KY.a

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, Sep. 1, 1866, to June 15, 1870, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Second Lieut., 6th Cavalry, June 15, 1870.

Served: on frontier duty at Ft. Richardson, Tex., Oct. 13, 1870, to Mar. 20, 1871, — Scouting, to Aug., 1871, — Camp Supply, I. T., to Sep. 29, 1871, — Ft. Scott, Kan., Oct. 24, 1871, to June, 1872, — Camp near Ft. Hays, Kan., to Sep., 1872, — Camp Limestone Creek, Kan., to Jan., 1873, — Ft. Scott, Kan., to Mar., 1873, — Ft. Gibson, I. T., to June 26, 1874 (escorting Indian prisoners, "Santan" and "Big Tree," to Ft. Sill, I. T., Aug. 21 to Oct. 1, 1873), — Scouting, June 26 to Aug. 18,

(First Lieut., 6th Cavalry, Aug. 1, 1874)

1874, — Ft. Hays, Kan., to Dec. 23, 1874, — on Expedition to Indian Territory, to Mar., 1875, — Camp, North Fork of Red River, Tex., Mar.‑Apr., 1875, — Camp Supply, I. T., to July 24, 1875 (leave of absence, May 26 to June 24, 1875), — Camp Grant, Ara., Oct. 29, 1875, to July 16, 1878, — Regimental Adjutant, Sep. 30, 1876, to May 31, 1883, — and Camp Lowell, Ara., July 19 to Oct. 21, 1878 (detached service at Camp Grant, Ara., Oct. 21 to Dec. 24, 1878), and Dec. 24, 1878, to Oct. 13, 1881, — Ft. Apache, Ara., to Sep. 19, 1882, — Ft. Lowell, Ara., to Oct. 21, 1882 (sick leave of absence, to May 21, 1883), — and Fort Grant, Ara., to Sep. 6, 1883; on Recruiting service, Oct. 1, 1883, to Oct. 1, 1885; on frontier duty at Ft. Wingate, N. M., to Dec. 15, 1885,

p164 (Captain, 6th Cavalry, Jan. 3, 1885)

Scouting in Arizona and New Mexico, to Oct. 19, 1886, — and Ft. Wingate, N. M. (Scouting, Sep. 21 to Oct. 10, 1888, and inspecting Cavalry Horses, Jan. 23 to June 24, 1889), to Sep. 1, 1889; and on sick leave of absence, to –––––.

Vol. IV
p203 [Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — Served: At Fort Wingate, N. M., in command of Troop K, 6th Cavalry, to the fall of 1890. — Engaged in the campaign under General Miles against the Sioux Indians during the winter of 1890‑91. — Awarded a

Medal of Honor

for distinguished bravery in command of his troop in action against hostile Sioux Indians on the north bank of White River, near the mouth of Little Grass Creek, S. D., on Jan. 1, 1891 (where he defeated a superior force and caused the Sioux tribe, seeking the Bad Lands, to return to the Pine Ridge Agency, where they surrendered); commanded the escort conducting the principal chiefs as prisoners from the Pine Ridge Agency, S. D., to Fort Sheridan, Ill., for confinement.

— Left Fort Sheridan in the spring of 1891, and took station p204 with his troop at Fort Niobrara, Neb. — On duty with the National Guard of Wisconsin, from winter of 1891 to Oct. 31, 1892. — At Jefferson Barracks, Mo., from Nov. 1, 1892 to Sept. 30, 1894. — Commanded his troop at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., from Oct. 1, 1894 to April 20, 1898. — Left Fort Leavenworth in command of his troop, April 20, 1898, for camp at Chickamauga Park, Ga. — Commanded the 2d squadron, 6th Cavalry, during the Spanish-American war, from May 1 to July 1, 1898, inclusive. — Left Camp Thomas, May 11, 1898, for camp near Tampa, Fla. — Embarked with squadron on U. S. transport Rio Grande, June 7, 1898. — Sailed with General Shafter's expedition for Cuba, from Tampa, June 14, 1898. — Landed at Daiquiri, Cuba, June 22. — Commanded squadron (dismounted) in the campaign against Santiago de Cuba. — Was wounded in the assault on San Juan ridge, July 1. — Sent by the hospital ship Iroquois to the Army General Hospital at Key West, Fla., arriving July 5. — On sick leave on account of wound, from July 7 until ordered on duty pertaining to the Paris Exposition, Aug. 22, 1898. — On duty pertaining to the Paris Exposition to Aug., 1900.

(Major of Cavalry, 10th Cavalry, Oct. 24, 1898)

— Military Attaché to the U. S. Embassy at Berlin since Aug. 22, 1900.

Vol. V
p175 [Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History. — Military Attaché from the United States to Germany, from Aug. 22, 1800, until Sept. 30, 1902.

(Lieut.‑Colonel of Cavalry, May 31, 1901)

— Assigned as Assistant Adjutant-General, July 15, 1902. — On duty in the War Department, Washington, D. C., from Dec. 15, 1902 to March 30, 1903.

(Colonel, 12th Cavalry, March 30, 1903)

— Selected April 17, 1903, by a board of officers as a member of the General Staff. — Chief of Staff of the Philippines Division from Sept. 19, p176 1903 to Oct. 27, 1904. — Chief of Staff of the Atlantic Division from Dec. 26, 1904 to Aug. 15, 1906. — Commanding 12th Regiment, U. S. Cavalry from Aug. 15, 1906 to April 13, 1908.

(Brig.‑General, U. S. Army, April 13, 1908)

— Commanding Fort Riley, Kas., and Commandant Mounted Service School from May 2, 1908 to –––––.

Brig.‑General, U. S. A., Retired May 20, 1909,
at his own request; over 40 Years' Service.

Vol. VI
p155 [Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

(Born March 12, 1847.)

Military History. —

Medal of Honor.

Colonel, 12th Cavalry, March 30, 1903.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., April 13, 1908.

At Fort Riley, Kans., commanding post and Commandant of Mounted Service School, May 2, 1908, to April 20, 1909.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Retired, May 20, 1909,
At His Own Request After Over 40 Years' Service.

Vol. VII
p102 [Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920‑1930]

p103 Military History: —

Medal of Honor.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Retired, May 20, 1909,
At His Own Request After Over 40 Years' Service.

Awarded Silver Star and cited "for gallantry in action against Spanish forces at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, July 1, 1898."

Died, Feb. 27, 1928, at Washington, D. C.: Aged 80.

Buried, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.

Thayer's Note:

a Gen. Kerr's birthplace is from a newspaper obituary transcribed at the Arlington Cemetery site.

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