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<em>Wlliam Henry Wheeler</em> was born May 10, 1852, in Brecksville, Ohio. His father was William Edwin Wheeler, son of Moses Freeman Wheeler; they were both born in New Haven, Vermont. His father went to Brecksvllle, Ohio, in 1845, as an Architect and Contractor, and in 1848, met and married his mother, Rebecca Holbrook Dunbar, of Spencer, Massachusetts, who had just graduated from Oberlin College. His grandmother, Mary Ann Perry Wheeler, was a first cousin of Commodore Perry, of Lake Erie fame, and Captain Wheeler remembered attending the ceremony in Cleveland, when the Perry monument was dedicated.</p>
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Captain Wheeler was appointed to the United States Military Academy from Wisconsin, in 1870. In 1873, he attended and marched at Grant’s Inauguration in Washington, graduating in 1874, as a second lieutenant. He joined and served with the 11th Infantry at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Indian Territory, from October, 1874, to February, 1876. He was with his regiment at Fort Brown, Texas, and Cheyenne Agency, Dakota, to July 1877. He was then with the 11th Infantry at Big Horn Post, Fort Custer, Montana Territory, to August, 1882. Army records of the period single him out for conspicuous horsemanship and expertness as a rifle shot, no less than for an unusual ability to make and maintain friendships with hitherto hostile Indians. In 1883, he spent three months at Fort Slocum, In New Rochelle, and from there went to Louisville, Kentucky. Then he served with his regiment at Fort Bedford, Dakota, to November, 1885, when he was transferred to Fort Sully, Dakota, and served there to June, 1886. He was then with his regiment at Fort Lincoln and Fort Tates, Dakota, and served as Company Commander to July, 1887. He served with rank of Captain with the 11th Infantry at Fort Wood, New York, from August, 1887, to the date of his retirement for disability in line of duty February, 1891. He was recalled to active duty at Headquarters, Eastern Department at Governors Island, New York, from January, 1917, to January, 1919.</p>
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Captain Wheeler was an original companion in the Order of Indian Wars of the United States, and was authorized to wear an Indian Campaign Badge for services in the Kiowa and Commanche Campaigns, 1874, and the Sioux Campaigns, 1879-1880. Once in an action against the Sioux, he was in the saddle for fifty-two continuous hours.</p>
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Between his periods of army service he traveled abroad, the first time in 1878, during leave of absence. Then he went back in 1894, and each year thereafter to 1917, living for long periods in his apartment in Paris, France, visiting England, but always glad to return to the United States. He was a member of the Union Club, in New York, for fifty-seven years, and upon his death their flag was at half-mast. West Point awarded his Bachelor of Science Degree in October, 1937, and he was so pleased that he immediately had it framed in his study.</p>
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Captain Wheeler died November 15, 1941, in his home in Larchmont, N. Y. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Margaret Graney Wheeler, his sister, Mrs. Henry P. Brooke, and a grandniece, Mrs. M. B. Rockwell, of New York.</p>
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To those who knew him well Captain Wheeler was quite a wonder, in his late years appearing years younger, tall, erect, keen-eyed, with a brilliant mind and ability to win and hold true and loyal friends. If pressed he would recall vividly his adventures in the old Indian Wars, but liked to talk mostly about present day changes and conditions. His radio was a great Joy, and he spoke of each news commentator as though he were a friend, and of course, had his favorites. He played an excellent game of bridge, and won highest score two evenings before he passed on. His kindly smile came from a lifetime of kindness and good deeds, well done by a noble soldier whose memory will live on.</p>