William Preble Hall

He drew enemy fire to protect the men of his scouting party.

William Preble Hall was born in Randolph County, Missouri, on 11 June 1848. He entered the United States Military Academy in 1864 and graduated in 1868. Commissioned initially in the 19th Infantry, he transferred to the 5th Cavalry in 1869. His early career consisted of frontier postings and scouting duties across the central plains and Southwest.

Hall served in Arizona and took part in the Army’s northern plains campaigns of 1876. He subsequently became his regiment’s quartermaster, combining administrative responsibility with continued field service. He was a first lieutenant when the action for which he received the Medal of Honor took place near White River, Colorado, in October 1879.

The citation records a reconnaissance party of three men coming under attack from approximately thirty-five Indigenous warriors. Hall repeatedly exposed himself so that his companions could identify their opponents’ positions and return fire. Its key phrase is that he “several times exposed himself to draw the fire of the enemy” (Congressional Medal of Honor Society, https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/william-p-hall, action dated 20 October 1879). The award was not made until 18 September 1897, almost eighteen years after the encounter.

Hall’s subsequent career was extensive. He commanded a cavalry troop and became an accomplished competitive marksman, winning recognition with carbine and revolver. In 1893 he moved into the Adjutant General’s Department. Staff appointments brought him to Texas, the Department of the Gulf during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. These were distinct assignments in a career that increasingly concerned the Army’s personnel and administrative work.

He rose to brigadier-general and served for years in the Adjutant General’s Office in Washington. In February 1912 he became the Adjutant General of the Army. He retired that June on reaching the statutory age, after approximately forty-four years of commissioned service. His final rank was therefore brigadier-general, although the action recorded in the citation occurred while he was a junior cavalry officer.

Hall lived in Washington after retirement. He died there on 14 December 1927, aged seventy-nine, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His career linked frontier service, shooting expertise and senior Army administration, with the Medal of Honor recognizing one episode within a much longer professional life.