b. 19/03/1843 Neuchatel, Switzerland. d. 17/06/1918 Missoula, Montana.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 03/11/1874 Staked Plains, Texas.
George Ernest Veuve was born in Cernier, Neuchatel, Switzerland. Although there are conflicting dates of his birth due to discrepancies in his military record, death certificate and obituary, it is generally accepted that his birth occurred on March 19, 1843. He was a coppersmith by trade and spoke German, however, little is known of his early life in Switzerland prior to emigrating to the United States in early-1864.
Veuve served in a German-speaking division of volunteer troops and later participated in General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea campaign from April to May 1865. It was during this time that Veuve was attacked by a Confederate cavalryman and sustained a head wound from a sabre. Historians have been unable to verify these claims via the National Archives and Records Administration given that the state regiment that Veuve served with is not known.
His post-Civil War career, however, was well documented. A year after leaving volunteer service, Veuve enlisted in the Regular Army in Cincinnati, Ohio and became a member of the 16th U.S. Infantry Regiment. His 3-year enlistment term lasted from October 17, 1866, to 1869, and reenlisted at Jackson Barracks, Louisiana on December 17, 1869. During the next five years, Veuve served with the 4th U.S. Cavalry for frontier duty in the Indian Territory, West Texas and Kansas. He became a skilled scout and learned Spanish. He was also appointed a farrier during his time with the 4th Cavalry and was responsible for the shoeing and general care of the regiment’s horses.
It was at the end of his second tour of duty that took part in campaigns against the Plains Indians in the Texas frontier during the early 1870s. On November 3, 1874, Veuve fought against the Kiowa and Comanche in the Staked Plains. In the midst of battle, he became separated from his company and was attacked by an Indian whom he defeated in hand-to-hand combat. Veuve was one of several men cited for bravery in this engagement and, on October 13, 1875, received the Medal of Honor for the “gallant manner in which he faced a desperate Indian”.
Discharged at the end of the year, Veuve reenlisted for another 5-year term at Jackson Barracks on January 16, 1875, and was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. Almost three years later, he had become a sergeant and was among the first soldiers to be stationed at Fort Missoula in the Montana Territory arriving by wagon train on November 14, 1875. He served as the fort’s quartermaster for several years. On January 22, 1880, he married 34-year-old Anna McCarty a week after leaving military service. The two had met in Missoula while McCarty, originally from County Cork, Ireland, was visiting her sister Margaret. She had previously lived in Washington, D.C. but decided to permanently settle in the area following her marriage. Though retired, Veuve was contracted by the fort’s quartermaster department to haul wood to Fort Missoula. He lived with his wife and daughter, Alina Brisbin, at their East Pine Street residence until his death on June 17, 1916, at age 73.
MOH CITATION:
Gallant manner in which he faced a desperate Indian.
BURIAL LOCATION: MISSOULA CEMETERY, MISSOULA, MONTANA.
BLOCK 39, LOT 8, GRAVE 2.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
