Sergeant John P. Schnitzer (1854 – October 26, 1904) was an American soldier and wagoner in the U.S. Army who served with both the 23rd U.S. Infantry and 6th U.S. Cavalry in the New Mexico Territory during the Apache Wars.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor, along with First Lieutenant Wilber Wilder, for rescuing a fellow soldier under heavy fire while fighting the Apache at Horseshoe Canyon on April 23, 1882, which he received fourteen years later.
[1] Taking part in the military campaigns against the Plains Indians, he saw considerable action with the 4th U.S. Cavalry, in which he was also a wagoneer for Troop G, during the Apache Wars in the New Mexico Territory.
[8][9][10][11] On June 8, 1885, while serving with the 23rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, Schnitzer was again cited for heroism in a battle with the Chiricahua Apache in Guadeloupe Canyon on the New Mexico-Arizona territorial border.
Schnitzer managed to escape carrying his mortally wounded sergeant out of the canyon while "under heavy fire within a short distance of the hostile Indians concealed in the rocks".