William Sully Beebe

William Sullivan Beebe was an ordnance officer who stepped beyond his staff duties at Cane River Crossing and personally led an assault on a fortified position.

Born on 14 February 1841 in Ithaca, New York, Beebe graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1863 and entered the Army's Ordnance Department. During the Red River Campaign, at Cane River Crossing, Louisiana, on 23 April 1864, he volunteered to lead attacking troops against a defended Confederate position.

Medal of Honor Citation (condensed): At Cane River Crossing on 23 April 1864, Beebe voluntarily led a successful assault against a fortified enemy position.

His Medal of Honor was presented on 30 June 1897. During the Spanish-American War he returned to active volunteer service as a major and chief ordnance officer on 27 June 1898. By October he was serving with the United States military commission in Havana, Cuba, where he died of yellow fever on 12 October 1898. He was buried at the United States Military Academy Cemetery at West Point.

His verified rack consists of the Medal of Honor, Army Civil War Campaign Medal, Spanish War Service Medal, and Army of Cuban Occupation Medal. His documented 1898 service began during the war, while the evidence reviewed places his Cuban service after the Spanish Campaign period but within the Cuban occupation eligibility period. No ribbon device is supported.