A Picture from History: Dan Edwards

When Texans go to war, their enemies shudder, and perhaps no other Texan illustrates this point better than PFC Daniel Richmond Edwards.

After surviving a rough upbringing, a youth on the run, a job as a Texas cowhand, and a series of other misadventures, Edwards signed up for the U.S. Army in time to be shipped overseas during World War I. 

He was assigned to the 1^st Division within the 3^rd Machine Gun Battalion, given a Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun, and sent to work. 

Battle of Cantigny

During the Battle of Cantigny, Edwards first got a taste of German steel. Overrun by the Germans, Edwards’s men were forced to retreat.

Wanting to give his brothers-in-arms time to make it out in one piece, Edwards stayed behind, pouring lead into the German ranks. 

As the Germans came, he was bayoneted five times in the torso and shot in the thigh, kneecap, and under the left eye, as well as shot by a plane in his foot. Packing clay into his wounds to staunch the blood, Edwards held out and helped his men escape. 

Sent to a hospital to recover; within a month, Edwards had enough. His friends were out there fighting, and he had no intention of laying in bed as they were out bleeding.

So, he went AWOL, and Europe gained a bandaged hitchhiker who somehow managed to bum rides all the way to the front, where his friends were at Soissons. 

In the Trenches

Amazed and happy at his return, he was again given a machine gun and set to work. The area had seen heavy fighting, and a forward listening post was needed.

Edwards was paired with a good friend and given the order to set one up in no man’s land. During the time of trench warfare, this was effectively a suicide mission. 

Both of the men ran as fast as they could, but Edward’s friend was hit and killed. Edward spent the night in a crater next to his dead friend, burying him. 

The next day, Edwards ran out for a ridgeline he had spotted that seemed to offer a good machine gun nest position. As he ran with his gun and ammo, the Germans opened fire.

Edwards made it all the way to the ridgeline. Then, to his horror, he found he had actually run right up to the edge of a German trench. 

The Germans blasted him with a mortar, hitting the machine gun and sending him cartwheeling through the air. 

A Close Call

When Edwards awoke, he was dangling a foot in the air. His arm was trapped between the earth of the trench and the lattice work that supported the walls.

His arm was broken, he was bleeding profusely, and his fingers were gone. And to make matters worse, he could hear Germans coming. 

Edwards watched as eight pointy helmets made their way through the trench to his position. His trench had a 90-degree angle that the Germans were soon going to have to turn.

All eight men had had their rifles slung on their shoulders, anticipating finding a dead American and a free machine gun.

So he pulled his .45 and aimed. As the Germans rounded the corner, Edwards killed four of them.

The remaining four Germans instantly surrendered, then watched as he withdrew his knife and chopped his arm off with one deft swing. 

He then forced one of the Germans to take out a Sterno can from his bag and light it to cauterize the wound. 

Back to Allied Lines

Edwards then had the men crawl out of the trench and head back to American lines with him behind them. 

Apparently not recognizing their own men, a shell was dropped among them, killing one of the German POWs and shattering Edward’s leg. One of the Germans bandaged Edwards up and made a splint.

Edwards then had the POWs carry him back to the American aid station, where it was found that Edwards had also had one of the Germans stuff his severed arm into his bag.

Why? He didn’t want to be cited for a self-inflicted wound. 

Edwards was given the Medal of Honor for his actions and was later buried in Royal, Arkansas. You can read more about his life in the 1924 book This Side of Hell. 

This is a new style of article for Pew Pew Tactical, if you liked it — let us know in the comments! If you didn’t enjoy it…well phooey. To catch up on previous Pictures from History, click on over to our History Category.