Marion P. Maus

A man with the unlikely name of Marion Maus would not be many people's idea of a fierce Indian fighter, a genuine war hero, a Medal of Honor winner and someone described by none other than legendary Apache warrior Geronimo as "the bravest man I have ever seen", but that in fact is just what Marion Maus was. Maryland-born Marion Perry Maus grew up wanting to be a soldier (his brother Louis also grew up to be an army officer). He graduated from the US Army Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1874, and was posted as an infantry officer to the southwest US, which was experiencing a wave of Indian wars. He served under renowned Indian fighter Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles as Chief of Scouts, and participated in the running down and capturing of Nez Perce Indian leader Chief Joseph in 1877 (it was to Maus that Chief Joseph spoke the famous words, "From where the sun now sits, I will fight no more forever"). Maus was promoted to First Lieutenant and assigned to the Texas and Arizona territories in 1880. In 1885 he was appointed commander of a troop of Apache scouts and was part of the force sent into Mexico to capture Geronimo and his band. In 1886 he and a combined force of US cavalry troopers and Apache scouts were trailing Geronimo in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico when they were ambushed by the Indian chief and his warriors in a narrow pass. Maus and his men took cover behind some rocks, but a trooper was hit by gunfire before he could take cover and was lying exposed. Maus dashed out to drag him to safety. As he did so several Apaches burst out of hiding and rushed him, but Maus coolly shot and killed them all, then dragged the wounded soldier to cover. As he rejoined the fight, he saw Geronimo above him hiding behind a rock with part of his head exposed. A deadly shot, Maus fired off a round at Geronimo, who wasn't hit but the round grazed the rock just inches from his head; in fact, the dust kicked up by the bullet got in Geronimo's eyes and temporarily blinded him. He called off the ambush and his band slipped away. For his actions in this engagement, Maus was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery. (As a side note, several days after the incident a letter arrived at the office of Maus' commanding general. It was from Geronimo, who recommended that Lt. Maus be decorated for bravery for his actions, saying that Maus "was the bravest man I have ever seen". He said that if Maus hadn't killed several of his best warriors and almost killed Geronimo himself, the patrol would have been wiped out. Maus was decorated for his actions, but it's not known how much Geronimo's recommendation influenced the army's decision.) Maus was promoted to captain in 1890 and took part in the 1890-94 campaign against the Sioux Indians. In 1897 he accompanied his former superior, Gen. Nelson Miles, on an inspection trip to Europe and later took part in the Spanish-American War of 1898. He rose steadily through the ranks, and in 1902 as a Lieutenant Colonel accompanied Miles again on a foreign tour. In 1904 he was promoted to full Colonel and given command of the 20th Infantry Division. His unit was posted to the Philippines to help put down a guerrilla campaign by Filipino nationalists and Moro tribesmen. In 1906 he was transferred to San Francisco, California, and during the great earthquake that devastated the city that year he played a very prominent role in keeping order and organizing rescue and rebuilding efforts in the city. He was promoted to Brigadier General soon afterward and transferred to San Antonio, Texas, where he was given command of a brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. He retired from the army as a Brigadier General in 1913. Maus died on February 2, 1930, in New Windsor, Maryland, and is buried (along with his wife and brother) in Arlington National Cemetery.