James Madison DeWolf

Who was James Madison DeWolf?

Dr. James Madison DeWolf was an acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who was killed in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Born in Mehoopany in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, DeWolf was a farmer prior to the American Civil War. In August 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army in the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery at the age of 17. He first saw combat at the First Battle of Bull Run. He was promoted to Corporal, but was severely wounded in the arm and discharged in October 1862. He re-enlisted in September 1864 in Battery A, 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, serving in that battery until his discharge on June 14, 1865.

Following the war, he became an enlisted man in the Regular Army's 14th U.S. Infantry and entered Harvard Medical School, graduating in June 1875. He became a contract surgeon later that year with the 7th Cavalry at Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory.

In the spring of 1876, he was assigned to Major Marcus Reno's battalion. A letter to his wife is the only first-hand account of Reno's scouting expedition to the Black Hills. Dr. DeWolf was killed June 25 during Reno's retreat from the wood to "Reno Hill".