Hermann Ziegner Herman or Hermann Ziegner ( 1864 – September 9 , 1898 ) was a German - American soldier who served in the U . S . Army during the Indian Wars and the Spanish - American War . In 1891 , he was one of 18 men to receive the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wounded Knee , more commonly known as the Wounded Knee Massacre . He was also a noted officer of 71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment , taking part in the Santiago campaign and the charge up San Juan Hill , and was one of many regimental members who died from malnourishment and malaria prior to and shortly after returning to the United States . Biography . Hermann Ziegner was born in Weimar , Germany in 1864 . He emigrated to the United States when he was 14 years old and later enlisted in the U . S . Army . Ziegner served with the 7th U . S . Cavalry for several years as a private in Troop E . At the Wounded Knee Massacre , he was cited for " conspicuous bravery " against attacking Sioux , concealed in a ravine , at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29 and again while defending a hill near the Catholic mission at White Clay Creek on December 30 , 1890 . Ziegner was promoted to the rank of corporal and was one of 18 men to receive the Medal of Honor . He officially received the award from Congress on June 23 , 1891 . After eight years on the American frontier , Ziegner was honorably discharged and settled in New York City . He worked as a night watchman at the safe deposit vault s in the Equitable Building . He married in 1894 and lived with his wife on 124th Street , between Seventh and Lenox avenues , in Manhattan . At the start of the Spanish - American War , Ziegner was one of the first men to join the 71st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment . He served as a first sergeant of Company E during the Santiago campaign and " suffered all the privation and hardship endured by the members of the Seventy - first " during that time . Ziegner was one of the officers to led Company E up San Juan Hill , alongside personal friend Captain Malcolm J . Rafferty of Company F , and according to his commanding officer Lieutenant William R . Hill " there was no braver man in the company " . Two weeks after the regiment landed at Montauk , he came to Long Island City on a furlough , suffering from pernicious malaria . His salary had been discontinued after leaving the regiment , and his wife was forced to give up their home . They had been staying at the home of a family friend , Mrs . E . Bracken , at 86 Seventh Street before he was taken to St . John ' s Hospital in Brooklyn . He was able to sit up unassisted during his first two days , and hoped to return to work , but his condition grew steadily worse over the next two weeks . Doctor Frank E . Brennan treated Ziegner during his time in Long Island City free of charge and providing for the medicine . He also assisted his wife in getting Ziegner admitted to a private hospital but found difficulty in arraigning a carriage . The hospital then had no ambulance , and the Red Cross were unavailable to assist . Local liverymen sometimes hired out their carriages , but none were willing to carry a malaria patient . By the time one was brought around to the house , Ziegner was too weak to ride . After nearly a week and a half , he was finally brought to St . John ' s Hospital in Brooklyn on the night of September 8 , 1898 . His wife accompanied her husband to the hospital and was allowed to remain at his bedside until he died the next evening . His funeral was held at Mrs . Bracken ' s home on Sunday afternoon , and he was then buried in Calvary Cemetery . Though they had no children , his wife was expecting their first child at the time of his death . Ziegner had been generally described as " a fine specimen of manhood , over six feet in height and possessing a splendid physique " , but his appearance as well as his health had declined after his return . In his final weeks , he expressed to his wife his belief of the government ' s poor treatment of the 71st and other returning veterans . He was also of the belief that his illness , as those of the regiment , were exacerbated by government - issued hardtack and bacon army rations and , had they been provided with better food , they would not have been in such a weakened condition by the time the regiment had returned to New York . His wife later issued a statement to " The New York Times " expressing her late husband ' s views , telling one reporter , The Red Cross Society , upon hearing of her circumstances , organized for money and other services to be provided for Mrs . Ziegner . On July 29 , 1993 , during a congressional hearing on the Wounded Knee National Memorial , Ziegner ' s status as an MOH recipient was questioned by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell , who suggested that the soldiers who received the award at Wounded Knee should have their medals rescinded .