ieutenant-Colonel H. W. Lawton, Inspector-General U. S. Army, was born in Ohio March 17, 1843. he had been taught a trade before the war, but enlisted, April 16, 1861, in the 9th Indiana Volunteers and served, as first lieutenant, in the campaign in West Virginia, under General McClellan, and in all the campaigns and battles of the Army of the Cumberland, participating in thirty-seven battles and coming out of the war with the rank of Colonel of the 30th Indiana Volunteers.

Colonel Lawton was awarded one of the few and highly prized medals of honor, bestowed under an act of Congress approved March 12, 1862, for feats of special bravery. This medal was given "for distinguished gallantry in leading a charge of skirmishers against the enemy's rifle pits, taking them with their occupants, and stubbornly and successfully resisting two determined attacks by the enemy to retake the works; in front of Atlanta, Ga., August 3, 1864."

After the war Colonel Lawton studied for eighteen months in Harvard Law School, but the attractions of army life for him were too strong to be resisted and he re-enlisted. He was married at Louisville, Ky., December 12, 1881, to Miss Mary Craig, of that city, whose ancestors came to Virginia from England and were officers in the revoluntionary armies. Most of Colonel Lawton's service since re-enlistment has been on the frontier, and the exploit by which he will be best remembered was the capture of the noted Apache chief and desperado, Geronimo, which was effected in the Terrace mountains, Mexico, in the summer of 1886. The capture was made by Troop B, of the Fourth Cavalry, and afterward, as a special reward, upon the request of General Sheridan, this troop was transferred to Fort Myer, on the Potomac, opposite Washington.

In 1894 Colonel Lawton came to Redlands and purchased as orange grove near Terracina, as a residence for his family. Mrs. Lawton has since lived there, with their four children, and has supervised the care of the ranch. Col. Lawton comes to Redlands at such intervals as his official duties permit. He is at present Inspector-General of the Southern District, with headquarters at Los Angeles, and is now the Senior Lieutenant-Colonel of the Army.

(Source: Illustrated Redlands, 1897, p. 43)