A long overdue honor made right

In 1877, during a battle with Apache Indians in New Mexico, U.S. Army Cpl. Clinton Greaves was credited for saving the lives of his fellow 9th Calvary Buffalo Soldiers when he created a gap through the Apache perimeter surrounding the soldiers. His actions resulted in him being awarded the Medal of Honor by President Rutherford B. Hayes.

When Legionnaire Vincent Falter learned of Greaves’ story, it made him wonder why no public memorial honors Greaves in his home town of Madison, Va., where he was born into slavery. So Falter did something about it.

A member of Post 157 in Madison, Falter petitioned state officials to erect an historical marker in Madison recognizing Greaves' heroism. The request was approved in late 2016; Post 157, the marker’s sponsor, will host a ceremony in late June to celebrate Greaves being honored.

“There were people who knew that (Greaves) was born here in this county, but nobody seemed to know any details,” said Falter, who retired as a major general after a 35-year career in the U.S. Army. “When I got involved in this thing, I said, ‘There’s historical markers for everything around here, but there’s not any that I’ve ever found that honor … a former slave who did such a heroic action.'”

Greaves was actually born Clinton Graves, but a typo changed his last name in all of his military records –including his Medal of Honor citation, which reads: “The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes great pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal Clinton Greaves, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 24 January 1877, while serving with Company C, 9th U.S. Cavalry in action at Florida Mountains, New Mexico. While part of a small detachment to persuade a band of renegade Apache Indians to surrender, his group was surrounded. Corporal Greaves in the center of the savage hand-to-hand fighting, managed to shoot and bash a gap through the swarming Apaches, permitting his companions to break free.”

Greaves spent 22 years in the Army before retiring to become a government civilian employee and a blacksmith. He died in Columbus, Ohio, in 1906; a U.S. Army base in South Korea is named for him and has since been turned over to the South Korean government.

But Falter found no public references to Greaves in Madison, so he pored over history books, even contacting their authors, to get more information on Greaves. He even got records from New Mexico, where Greaves had been stationed. Once he got all his information together, he presented it to Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources for review.

“They seemed to be pretty enthusiastic about it,” Falter said. “They thought it was a good idea. They liked the story. And they approved it.”

That announcement came in late December. The marker, which is currently being constructed, is expected to appear at 1 Main St. in Madison.

“When you come down to it, The American Legion is all about our veterans,” Falter said. “We look out for our veterans. We look out for our community. Honor and duty, it all ties together.

“I look at this guy who’s never been honored (in Madison). He’s never had any kind of public honor, even though he shows up in the history books, in his home county. It’s time for him to get that. That state of Virginia owes it to him, and I think our county does. That’s what we’re doing.”