June 18, 2015
Charles Schroeter received the Medal of Honor for “Gallantry in action” during a fight with Apache Indians in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains in 1869.
Despite this recognition, no one claimed the old soldier’s ashes when he was cremated following his death in January 1920. His ashes lay in an unmarked crypt in San Diego for nearly a century until his story finally came to light. In July, Schroeter will be buried at Miramar National Cemetery with full military honors.
This is one of those very unusual cases where the person’s death occurred decades ago – but because of his modern reburial, his obituary is included in GenealogyBank’s Recent Obituaries collection.
Charles Schroeter had served in the Civil War in the U.S. Cavalry, 1st Division. According to his obituary:
After the Civil War ended, Schroeter enlisted again, this time in the newly formed 8th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. He headed west, to Arizona, to fight in the Indian Wars and protect American settlers and their wagon trains. It was the 1869 Campaign of the Rocky Mesa that resulted in his Medal of Honor. Schroeter and other troopers were dispatched to respond to an Apache attack. At the end of the deadly battle in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains, 32 cavalrymen were nominated for the top combat medal.
Throughout history, 3,493 Medals of Honor have been awarded. Of those, [Don] Morfe estimated there are still about 200 ‘lost souls’ whose grave sites are unknown — like Schroeter’s was until recently.
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