George G . Wortman George G . Wortman ( August 15 , 1841 – May 19 , 1913 ) was a 19th - century Canadian - American soldier who served in the U . S . Army during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars . During Colonel Thomas L . Crittenden ' s campaign against the Apache Indians , Wortman served as a sergeant with the 8th U . S . Cavalry and participated in several notable engagements during the conflict . he later received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Arizona Territory during the summer of 1868 . Biography . Early life and military service . George G . Wortman was born in Moncton , New Brunswick , Canada on August 15 , 1841 . He worked as a civilian marble cutter prior to the start of the American Civil War when he enlisted in the Union Army in Boston , Massachusetts . After three years of combat service , his regiment disbanded at the end of the war . Wortman served on occupation duty for another year until he was discharged and mustered out of the service . He returned to Canada for a time to visit his family before going back to the United States . He worked in various jobs on the East Coast for around a year before joining the United States Army once more as a volunteer of the newly formed 8th U . S . Cavalry . The 8th U . S . Cavalry was formed on July 28 , 1866 , and officially organized at Camp Reynolds in Angel Island , California two months later . Wortman reenlisted with the U . S . Army in Carlisle , Pennsylvania on November 14 and , expressing to the army recruiter his interest in the cavalry , he was assigned to Angel Island to join the regiment . He spent over two months traveling by train , and later stage coach , before finally arriving at Angel Island on January 18 , 1867 . Wortman was initially an unassigned recruit but joined Company B at Camp Cady near Barstow , California . On March 12 , he accompanied the unit when they traveled from California to their new post at Camp Whipple in the Arizona Territory . Arriving safely at Camp Whipple three weeks later , Wortman was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to the Quarter Master Corps . Apache campaign . In the next two years , especially during the period between April 1867 and March 1868 , the 8th US Cavalry were in almost constant combat with the Apache and became one of the US Army ' s most experienced cavalry regiments . When several bands of Apache began raiding settlements , killing settlers and stealing livestock throughout the territory in the late summer and fall of 1868 , Wortman was among the troopers tasked with protecting the entire Arizona Territory . These consisted of no more the 50 or 60 soldiers , mainly taken from Troops B and L of the 8th US Cavalry , who faced repeated ambushes and were often shot at by snipers during their duties . On one of these patrols , Wortman led a 15 - man scouting party across the Salinas River . He had made three previous patrols in the area under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C . Devin , then commanding officer of the 8th US Cavalry , and was familiar with the area . He and his group found a small " rancheria " nearby , seemingly deserted like many other camps they had come across , where they were attacking in a poorly planned ambush by four Apaches . All four were killed by the troopers . One of them was killed , shot in the chest at point - blank range , by Wortman himself when the Apache charged at him with a knife . It was during this time that Wortman rode with Lieutenant Rufus Somerby to scout the areas around Lynx Creek and the Agua Fria River . On September 9 , 1868 , he was part of Somerby ' s 16 - man cavalry squad that successfully ambushed a group of Hualapais renegades killing two men and capturing four women . The following day , they spotted another band on the lower Agua Fria River . Engaging them , four renegades were killed , three women captured and a large amount of enemy supplies and weapons were destroyed . The troopers suffered no casualties in either engagement . These patrols , as well as the regiment ' s actions against hostile Apaches , earned many men in the regiment their medals . On July 24 , 1869 , Wortman was among the many men to receive the Medal of Honor for " bravery in scouts and actions against Indians " . It was one of the largest MOH presentations at the time . Wortman died in Edgewater , Colorado on May 19 , 1913 , and buried at Crown Hill Cemetery . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Sergeant , Company B , 8th U . S . Cavalry . Place and date : Arizona , August to October 1868 . Entered service at : - - - - - - . Birth : Monckton , New Brunswick . Date of issue : 24 July 1869 . Citation :