Aquilla Coonrod

Aquilla Coonrod's military life stretched across two very different American wars. He served Ohio volunteer units during the Civil War, returned to the Regular Army, and earned the Medal of Honor in the northern plains campaigns of 1876 and 1877.

Coonrod was born 1831 in Williams County, Ohio. He served in Ohio volunteer units during the Civil War, then returned to uniform in the 1870s and eventually served with the 5th U.S. Infantry on the northern plains.

Between October 21, 1876 to January 8, 1877, during operations at Cedar Creek and related operations in Montana, Sergeant Coonrod was cited for gallantry in action. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society identifies these as Indian Campaign actions, not Civil War actions.

Medal of Honor Citation

Gallantry in action.

His Medal of Honor was presented in 1877. His verified Civil War and Indian campaign service also makes the campaign-medal question different from most records in this batch. He died May 14, 1884 and was buried at Custer Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, Montana.

Coonrod's record therefore belongs in the Civil War research set because of his earlier Union service, while his Medal of Honor itself commemorates later service in the Indian Campaigns.