The Apache Scouts and the Medal of Honor

This marker names men whose service cuts against any simple telling of the Apache wars. Ten of the Medal of Honor recipients honored here, among them Chiquito, Blanquet, Nantaje, Machol, and Sergeant Alchesay, were Apache scouts who guided the Army through the winter campaign of 1872 and 1873. They fought skillfully for the force that was breaking Indigenous power across central Arizona, campaigns that ended in the 1875 removal of the Yavapai and Dilzhe'e to San Carlos. Alchesay later became a respected White Mountain Apache leader who spent his life advocating for his people.

What the plaque says

This marker honors soldiers and scouts assigned to Camp Verde, Arizona Territory, whose actions in combat earned the Medal of Honor. Among those recognized for the Winter Campaign of 1872-1873, awarded in 1875, were the Apache scouts Chiquito, Blanquet, Sergeant Alchesay, Sergeant Jim, Nannasaddie, Kelsay, Nantaje, Kosoja, Machol, and Corporal Elsatsoosu. Sergeant Rowdy was awarded for the Cherry Creek Campaign in 1890. First Sergeant James Blair of the 1st Cavalry was also recognized for the winter campaign.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Montezuma Castle — 3.5 mi
  A five-story Sinagua cliff dwelling, misnamed for an emperor who was never here
• Tuzigoot — 18 mi
  A hilltop Sinagua pueblo over the Verde, dug out of the ground in the Depression
• Jerome — 20 mi
  The billion-dollar copper camp clinging to Cleopatra Hill — now the largest ghost town in America
• Sedona — 22 mi
  Red-rock skyline, Little Hollywood, and the town Sedona Schnebly gave her name to

More markers nearby

• Fort Verde — steps away
• Camp Verde — 2.7 mi
• Kinship Ties — 3.3 mi
• People of the Verde — 17 mi