in the Nez Perce War, fighting at the Battle of Canyon Creek, as well as the Battle of Bear Paw from September 30,–October 4,. He continued to serve on the frontier in various forts and married Mary Alice Moore (1865–1935). They had three children, one of whom died two weeks after being born in 1889. In 1890, Captain Varnum commanded Company B of the 7th Cavalry at the Wounded Knee Massacre on December 29, against the aging Sioux Chief Big Foot and some 350 of his followers. The following day, during the Drexel Mission Fight at White Clay Creek, his heroics helped ensure a safe withdrawal for his troops. For his action, he received the Army Medal of Honor for Most Distinguished Gallantry on September 22, 1897. Varnum was promoted to major on February 1, 1901, then to lieutenant colonel in April 1905. He sailed under orders for the Philippines from San Francisco in September 1905. Varnum was retired from the Regular Army for disability on October 31, 1907, continued serving with Idaho militia troops for another year. After leaving active service, he was a professor of military science at the University of Maine, and from 1912, he served as a recruiting officer in the reserves. He was recalled to active duty and promoted to Colonel during World War I as finance and disbursing officer at Fort Mason, California. He retired again on April 8, 1919. When he died in 1936 at Letterman Hospital in the Presidio of San Francisco at the age of 86, Varnum was the last surviving officer of those who had participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, although not the last surviving combatant. He was buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery. Medal of Honor citation Rank and organization: Captain, Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At White Clay Creek, S. Dak., December 30, 1890. Entered service at: Pensacola, Fla. Birth: Troy, N.Y. Date of issue: September 22, 1897. Citation: While executing an order to withdraw, seeing that a continuance of the movement would expose another troop of his regiment to being cut off and surrounded, he disregarded orders to retire, placed himself in front of his men, led a charge upon the advancing Indians, regained a commanding position that had just been vacated, and thus insured a safe withdrawal of both detachments without further loss. See also List of Medal of