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TAPS
Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night. |
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BORN:
March 01, 1848 at Somerset, OH
Entered Service in the US
Army from Iowa
Earned
The Medal of Honor During the Philippine Insurrection For
heroism on May 13, 1899 at San Miguel de Mayumo, Luzon,
Philippine Islands
DIED: June
10, 1914 at the age of 66
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Captain William
Birkhimer was an Artillery officer leading a hand-picked group of
soldiers known as "Young's Scouts," tasked with being at
the forefront of movement in rebel-controlled areas. On May 13,
1899, eleven of these scouts under Captain Birkhimer encountered
300 enemy near San Miguel. Without waiting for reinforcements, the
scouts broke from the bushes which concealed them, and charged
across 150 yards of open ground into the center of the enemy line
which wavered, and then broke, the rebels fleeing their positions.
The scouts then routed the Filipinos at the bridge spanning the
river, but the civilian Scout commander William Young was mortally
wounded. Corporal Frank Anders rallied the scouts and led them
into the town where they fought at close quarters for four hours,
taking and holding a church bell tower until additional
reinforcements arrived. Six of Young's Scouts earned the Medal of
Honor for this action, and three days later seven additional
Scouts earned the Medal of Honor at a bridge over the river at
nearby San Isidro. In all, Captain Birkhimer and twelve of his
Scouts earned Medals of Honor in the three-day period.
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