Albert W. McMillan

He directed the skirmish line during the Wounded Knee attack

Albert Walter McMillan was born on 13 October 1862 in Stillwater, Minnesota. He studied at Princeton College and enlisted in the United States Army at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on 15 August 1887. He served in Company E, 7th Cavalry, and became a sergeant.

On 29 December 1890, McMillan took part in the violence at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. His award records credit him with positioning soldiers on the skirmish line, directing their fire and encouraging them while troops fired toward people concealed in a ravine. He received the Medal of Honor on 23 June 1891.

The action occurred during the Wounded Knee Massacre, in which Lakota men, women and children were killed. The awards associated with it remain contested.

McMillan subsequently served as sergeant major before requesting reduction to private. He left the Army in 1892, earned a law degree at the University of Minnesota in 1894 and worked as a legal editor. During the First World War he served with the American Red Cross in England. He died in Sacramento, California, on 2 October 1948. His remains were returned to St. Paul for burial at Oakland Cemetery.

Official Medal of Honor citation:

"While engaged with Indians concealed in a ravine, he assisted the men on the skirmish line, directed their fire, encouraged them by example, and used every effort to dislodge the enemy."