John Nihill John Nihill ( May 25 , 1850 – May 29 , 1908 ) was an Irish - born soldier in the U . S . Army who served with the 5th U . S . Cavalry during the Indian Wars . A participant in the Apache Wars , he received the Medal of Honor for bravery when he single - handedly fought off four Apache warriors in the Whetstone Mountains of Arizona on July 13 , 1872 . At the time of his death , he was the only enlisted man to be admitted as a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . A well - known Indian fighter during his lifetime , Nihill was close friends with William F . " Buffalo Bill " Cody and Captain Jack Crawford . He was also considered at one time to be one of the top marksmen in the United States armed services . By 1885 , he had won every shooting medal offered by the US military and was barred from accepting awards at further competitions . Biography . Early life and military career . John Nihill was born in Nenagh , Ireland on May 25 , 1850 . He ran away from home at an early age and eventually made his way to the United States . Shortly after his arrival in Brooklyn , New York , he enlisted in the U . S . Army on November 10 , 1868 , and was assigned to the 5th U . S . Cavalry . He spent the next 15 years of his career with this regiment serving under such officers as William H . Emory , Wesley Merritt and Eugene A . Carr during the Indian Wars against the Plains Indians throughout the American frontier " as far east as Kansas , to Arizona in the west , and south from the Yellowstone Park to the Rio Grande " . Two years later , Nihill took part in Carr ' s Republican River expedition , which included William F . " Buffalo Bill " Cody as a guide and scout , and saw action at the Battle of Summit Springs on July 11 , 1869 . He also participated in similar campaigns at the Solomon River in Kansas , and at Red Willow and Budwood Creeks in Nebraska between 1869 and 1871 . He followed Carr to the Arizona Territory in late - 1871 where the 5th Cavalry battled the Apache for the next four years . It was during this time that he became close friends with William Cody and Captain Jack Crawford . Battle of the Whetstone Mountains . On July 13 , 1872 , Nihill was part of an 8 - man cavalry detachment under the command of Second Lieutenant William P . Hall sent out from Camp Crittenden to stop an Apache raiding party which had stolen cattle from a local Mexican rancher . They pursued the Apaches 15 miles into a canyon in the Whetstone Mountains . Though they had expected a dozen or so Indians , they instead encountered about 80 Apache braves . His commander hoped to surprise the hostiles , gaining an advantage by firing the first volley , but their presence was detected by the Apache and they charged towards the soldiers . Other Indians pushed boulders from the top of cliffs as high as 800 feet wounding several cavalrymen and horses . After a brief fight , the outnumbered troopers were forced to retreat . Nihill was unaware of this , being engaged in a shooting match with another Apache hiding behind a nearby rock , and became separated from the main group . While fighting his way back to his unit , Nihill assisted Private Michael Glynn and First Sergeant Henry Newman by holding off the Apaches while the wounded troopers could be safely evacuated . According to an 1895 article by the " New York Times " , he later found Glynn whose horse had been killed and was shot in both shoulders . Nihill put Glenn on his own horse and sent him to a forest a few miles away . He told Glynn that he would hold off the Apaches for as long as he could and , if he survived , would rejoin his comrade in the same woods . After Glynn galloped off , Nihill followed behind on foot towards the woods . He was soon spotted by a small group of Apaches , however , and forced to take cover behind a large rock . Nihill killed each Apache that approached him and , after running out of ammunition , kept the others at bay by feigning to reload his gun . He was unaware of how many Apache he faced until they finally retreated . Nihill then proceeded to the woods where he found Glynn still waiting for him . The wounded soldier was lying on the ground next to the horse , too weak to sit in the saddle , and Nihill strapped him to the mount then rode the horse back to Camp Crittenden nearly 50 miles away . His commanding officer Colonel Westley Merritt recommended Nihill for the Medal of Honor which he received on December 4 , 1874 , as did Glynn and Newman . He later received a certificate of merit from Secretary of War Robert Lincoln . He participated in other actions against the Apache including Davidson Canyon in September 1872 , Hawk Canyon , Pinal Creek and the Pinal Mountains in March 1874 , and Slim Buttes in the Dakota Territory in September 1876 . Sharpshooting competitor and later years . During the 1880s , Nihill became an accomplished marksman and established himself as one of the top " crack shots " in the United States military . In 1882 , Nihill won a spot on the Department of the Platte Rifle Team , as well as a medal with the Division of the Mississippi Rifle Team . This medal was the first one ever awarded to a member of the 5th U . S . Cavalry for marksmanship . He took the Division of the Missouri ' s silver medal at Fort Leavenworth on September 27 , 1882 . After his term of enlistment expired the following year at Fort McKinney in Wyoming , Nihill reenlisted with Battery B of the 5th U . S . Artillery at Fort Wadsworth . He continued to win shooting awards during the next few years including those from the Department of the East Skirmish and the first Silver Medal of the Atlantic in 1885 . He also won the his regiment ' s battery medal three years in a row from 1884 to 1886 . Nihill won so many medals that he was eventually barred from competing for army medals , being permitted to shoot in contests , but not eligible to accept awards . During President Chester A . Arthur ' s 1885 visit to Yellowstone National Park , Nihill accompanied Authur ' s party as a hunter and " kept them well supplied with fresh meat " . He was placed on the list of distinguished marksmen two years later and , in 1888 , won a place on the Army Team defeating the winner of the first prize , Division of the Atlantic , by 17 points . After four years at Fort Wadsworth , he transferred to the 4th U . S . Cavalry at Fort Myer , Virginia . When his enlistment term ended in 1888 , he once again reenlisted and joined Company A of the Battalion of Engineers in Washington , DC . He continued to participate in shooting competitions , often making clean scores at 200 to 1 , 000 yards , and made 19 consecutive bullseye s in one contest in the fall of 1894 . His final shot missed the bullseye by less than half an inch . In March 1895 , an illustrated biography of Nihill ' s life and military career was featured in a Sunday edition of the " New York Times " . The story was later republished in his native Ireland where it was read by his parents . This was the first they had heard from their son since running away from home nearly 30 years before . His mother wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times which was later forwarded to Nihill . Following Nihill ' s retirement from the military , he returned to New York and lived in Whitestone , Long Island until his death on May 29 , 1908 , only four days after his 58th birthday . Accompanied by an escort of troops from Fort Totten , he was buried with full military honors at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn , New York . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Private , Company F , 5th U . S . Cavalry . Place and date : At Whetstone Mountains , Ariz . , 13 July 1872 . Entered service at : Brooklyn , N . Y . Born : 1850 , Ireland . Date of issue : 4 December 1874 . Citation : Fought and defeated 4 hostile Apaches located between him and his comrades .