Peter
Thompson
Private
Company C
Born – September 1, 1853*
(Fifeshire, Scotland)
Died – December 3, 1928
(Hot Springs, South Dakota)
Grave location – West Lead
Cemetery, Lead, South Dakota
He enlisted on September 21, 1875, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by
Lt. Thomas Gregg. He listed his previous occupation as miner.
He was transferred to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri and was assigned
to Company C, 7th Cavalry at Fort Lincoln. He was discharged on
September 20, 1880, at Fort Meade, Dakota, upon expiration of
service, as a private of excellent character. He had brown eyes,
brown hair, ruddy complexion, and was 5’ 8 ¾” in height. He
ran a ranch northeast of Alzada, Montana, until he died in
1928. Thompson and the rest of Company C were assigned to the
battalion under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. His horse gave out
and he fell back and eventually joined Major Reno and the troops on
the hilltop. He was wounded in the right hand while with the water
party on June 26th. He was transported to Fort Lincoln aboard the
steamer Far West. He was issued the Medal of Honor on October 5,
1878, as a member of the water party with the citation”… after
having voluntarily brought water to the wounded in which effort he
was shot through the hand, he made two more successful trips for the
same purpose notwithstanding the remonstrances of his sergeant.”
*His date of birth has also been listed as December 28, 1853.
(Thanks to Rocky Boyd for clearing up the facts about Thompson’s
date of birth. The date of December 28, 1853 was actually the day
that Thompson was baptized. The December 28th date is the one
that appears on his grave markers.)
