Aquilla Coonrod

Who was Aquilla Coonrod?

Aquilla Coonrod or Coonrad was an American soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 14th, 48th and 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War, and with the 7th U.S. Cavalry and the 5th U.S. Infantry during the Indian Wars.

He participated in several engagements against the Sioux in the Montana Territory between 1876–77, most notably at Cedar Creek and Wolf Mountain, and received the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary acts of heroism and gallantry in action" by General William T. Sherman. He was also the first known white child born in present-day Williams County, Ohio and is one of two men from Williams County, the other being American Civil War hero William J. Knight, to receive the award.

Coonrod later served with the 5th U.S. Infantry at Fort Buford in Williams County, North Dakota. In 1884, he and his men were escorting U.S Army paymaster Major Whipple and a large payroll shipment for various frontier outposts when they were attacked by a group of bandits. Although Coonrod was mortally wounded, his men drove off the bandits and successfully defended the shipment valued at $20,000. His body was originally interred at the Post Cemetery at Fort Buford and moved to the Custer National Cemetery near the Crow Agency in 1896.