Date of Award: March 14, 1902
Conflict: Philippine Insurrection
Branch: U.S. Army
Born in 1874, Maj. George Mathews enlisted in the U.S. Army as a physician, and quickly rose to the rank of captain and assistant surgeon with the 18th Volunteer Company of the 36th Infantry by the age of 25.
Mathews saw action in the 1899 Philippine Insurrection during the Battle of Sebao Island. While dressing the wounds of a fallen lieutenant, hostile Filipino forces advanced, and the unarmed Mathews took the injured soldiers weapon and single-handedly thwarted the enemy attack. Shortly following the battle, Mathews resigned from his position with the 18th Volunteers in order to be officially commissioned as a major in the Army. After being nominated by Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, father of renowned Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Mathews was presented with his medal in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Citation: “While in attendance upon the wounded and under a severe fire from the enemy, seized a carbine and beat off an attack upon wounded officers and men under his charge.”
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Last Updated: September 22, 2022