b. 24/04/1866 Anna, Illinois. d. 13/01/1917 ?
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 26/07/1899 Calamba, Luzon, Philippines.
Matthew A Batson MOH
Batson was born in Anna Illinois, a small agricultural town located on the Illinois Central Railroad in Union County in southern Illinois but grew up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Educated locally, he attended Southern Illinois University for one term. He had two stints of teaching school and spent a year studying law in hopes of passing the bar exam. Batson enlisted in the 2nd United States Cavalry on 9 April 1888. His motives for doing so remain obscure. Over the next three years he served in troops M and G and attained the rank of corporal. Based on his service record and his marks on a competitive examination, the War Department offered him a commission as second lieutenant in the 9th Cavalry, one of two Regular Army cavalry regiments that consisted of black enlisted men led by white officers. He accepted on 2 August 1891. He spent the next seven years in the 9th Cavalry, primarily in garrison. He married and started to raise a family. During the academic year 1894–95 he attended the Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Three years later, during the Spanish–American War, he accompanied the 9th Cavalry to Cuba and participated in the V Corps’ campaign against Santiago. He had a credible record in combat at San Juan Hill, but the experience left him disillusioned. He felt that officers who had done less than he had received promotion and recognition while he had received none.
Batson accompanied the 4th Cavalry to the Philippines, arriving in October 1898, and joined the VIII Corps, then occupying only the city of Manila and a small area around the Cavite naval base. Initially, the corps commander, Maj. Gen. Elwell S. Otis, assigned the regiment to the 1st Division, VIII Corps, then commanded by Brig. Gen. Thomas M. Anderson and subsequently by Maj. General Henry W. Lawton. Eventually, Otis assigned a few troops of the 4th Cavalry to the 2nd Division but kept the bulk of the regiment with the 1st Division. Batson’s troop remained with the 1st Division.
He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery at Calamba, Luzon, Philippine Islands, on July 26, 1899. His citation reads “Swam the San Juan River in the face of the enemy’s fire and drove him from his entrenchment’s”. His Medal was awarded to him on March 8, 1902. He remained heavily involved in the war until its conclusion, surviving a gunshot wound to the foot which narrowly avoided amputation. At the end of the war, he returned to the United States, and little is known about him thereafter.
MOH CITATION:
Swam the San Juan River in the face of the enemy’s fire and drove him from his entrenchments.
BURIAL LOCATION: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA.
SECTION 2, GRAVE 3604-WS
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
