Frederick E. Toy

Frederick Ernest Toy (1860s – August 5, 1933) was a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Indian and Spanish–American Wars; During his enlisted service, he was assigned to the 7th Cavalry Regiment until promoted to ordnance sergeant and served at a variety of posts. He received the Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of Wounded Knee, but now called the Wounded Knee Massacre, against the Dakota Indians on December 29, 1890. Toy retired from the Army in 1910. He was recalled and commissioned as a captain during World War I. He worked as an employment manager and as a railroad police officer.

Early life Toy was born in Buffalo, New York in the early– to mid–1860s to Ernst and Catherine Toy. The 1870 U.S. Census shows his given name as Fred and his estimated birth year as 1864–1865. He was educated in the Buffalo public schools. The 1880 U.S. Census shows his given name as Friedrich and his estimated birth year as 1865. The record of his first enlistment shows his estimated year of birth as 1862.

Enlisted Army career Sergeant Toy (on the right) receiving the Medal of Honor at Fort Riley, Kansas, 1891. Frederick Toy was a career enlisted soldier, serving from 1883 to 1910. All of his enlisted terms of service ended with the expiration of his term of service and with character evaluations of "excellent." All of Toy's service was with Troop G, 7th Cavalry Regiment until he was promoted to ordnance sergeant.

Toy first enlisted on October 16, 1883 at Chicago, Illinois; his enlistment record reflects the given name of Frederick and his age as 21 (birth year ). On September 15, 1888, Toy was discharged as a sergeant at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Toy, a sergeant on the day of the battle, was commanded by Captain Winfield Scott Edgerly. First Sergeant Toy reenlisted on November 15, 1893 at Fort Riley. First Sergeant Toy was discharged at Camp Forse, Alabama. He was discharged as an ordnance sergeant while assigned to Fort Sheridan. In the 1910 U.S. Census, Toy is shown to be living at Fort Niagara while serving as an "O.S." in the U.S. Army. He retired from the Army on October 15, 1910 as an ordnance sergeant by authority of War Department Special Orders 239 dated October 12, 1910.

Commissioned Army career During World War I, Toy was among retired Regular Army personnel who were recalled to serve as trainers; he was commissioned as a captain in the Quartermaster Corps and assigned to the 303d Stevedore Regiment; he returned to his Niagara Falls, New York home on July 18, 1919 and anticipated mustering out of the U.S. Army during August 1919. He served as a transportation quartermaster in Brest, France. In the 1920 U.S. Census, his occupation is reflected as "Captain, U.S. Army." Toy, identified as a major, commanded the Special Troops, 98th Infantry Division (part of the Organized Reserve of New York State) from March 26, 1922 to November 10, 1924. Toy, again identified as a major, was ordered to attend training camp from July 15 through August 2, 1922.

Later life and death After his military service, Toy was employed as the employment manager of the Aluminum Company of America and later as a lieutenant for the New York Central Railroad Company police. Toy was a member of Camp number 7 of the United Spanish War Veterans He also joined the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the Military Order of the World War. He died on August 5, 1933, and is buried at Riverdale Cemetery in Lewiston, New York. Toy's grave marker identifies him as a captain. Spanish War Service Medal Proponents claim that the engagement was in-fact a massacre and not a battle, due to the high number of killed and wounded Lakota women and children and the very one-sided casualty counts. Estimates of the Lakota losses indicate 150–300 killed, of which up to 200 were women and children. Additionally, as many as 51 were wounded. In contrast, the 7th Cavalry suffered 25 killed and 39 wounded, many being the result of friendly fire.

Calvin Spotted Elk, direct descendant of Chief Spotted Elk killed at Wounded Knee, launched a petition to rescind medals from the soldiers who participated in the battle.

The Army has also been criticized more generally for the seemingly disproportionate number of Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the battle. For comparison, 19 Medals were awarded at Wounded Knee, 21 at the Battle of Cedar Creek, and 20 at the Battle of Antietam. Respectively, Cedar Creek and Antietam involved 52,712 and 113,000 troops, suffering 8,674 and 22,717 casualties. Wounded Knee, however, involved 610 combatants and resulted in as many as 705 casualties (including non-combatants).