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Submitted: 3/10/05 • Approved: 7/3/09 • Last Updated: 3/25/18 • R20218-G0-S3
b. Feb. 20, 1840, Philadelphia, Penn.
d. Sept. 14, 1911
h/o Alice (Grogan) Tea
(m) Feb. 13, 1887, Yavapai Co. Az. Territory
s/o Richard & Manda (Curry) Tea
Indian Wars Vet. Medal of Honor
Sgt. Co H, 6th U.S. Calvary
Enlisted in Pittsburg, Penn.
Note: Shortly after the Southern Cheyenne Indian tribe surrendered in the spring of 1875, a renegade band of sixty or seventy rebelling warriors escaped, crossed the Arkansas River, and tried to make their way into Sioux country north of the Platte River.
Sergeant Richard Tea was one of eight troopers of Company H, 6th Cavalry cited for heroism after a detachment of forty soldiers was dispatched from Fort Lyon, Colorado, to capture or kill the renegades.
The two forces engaged in battle at Sappa Creek, Kansas, on April 23, 1875. At the height of the battle Sergeant Tea, along with Sergeant Frederick Platten and Privates Peter Gardiner, Elisha Hornaday, James Lowthers, and Marcus Robbins, in a daring move, waded in the muddy creek to a position directly behind the Cheyenne camp and attacked from the rear. The six men engaged in a dangerous fight with a desperate foe.
Private Robbins recalled, "I had run my head into many a hornet's nest in my life but they did not compare with that which buzzed around us for a while."
The action of these six men broke the enemy resistance, resulting in the capture of the entire hostile camp. Private James Ayers and Trumpeteer Michael Dawson also earned Medals of Honor in this battle.
Contributed on 3/10/05
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Record #: 20218