Heinrich Bertram

I have mentioned before about some of the struggles surrounding finding information on Medal of Honor recipients in the 19th century. Heinrich is no different. The information I started with stated that he was born in Braunschweig (or Brunswick), Germany in 1842, but I didn’t want to settle for just that. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society has his birth date listed as the 19th of March, but I couldn’t find any immigration records that matched the name and age. Skipping ahead a bit, I was able to find a California death index with his date of death listed under the name Henry, but with an age listed as 65, which would put his birth year in 1844.

All of that aside, it is known he enlisted in the Army and was assigned to Company B of the 8th US Cavalry. Heinrich was a Corporal when he deployed to the Black Mountains of the Arizona Territory, and his actions during the 13th of August to the 31st of October 1868, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

Bravery in scouts and actions against Indians.

Heinrich received the Medal of Honor on the 24th of July 1869, and that, unfortunately, is where my journey of finding information ends. Heinrich Bertram, also known as Henry, died on the 30th of December 1909, and he is buried in St Mary’s Cemetery in Sacramento, California.