First Native American Graduate MAJ Moniac 1822, Receives Alabama Distinguished Service Medal Posthumously

Governor Kay Ivey presented the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal posthumously to Major David Moniac (1802 – 1836) on November 15 in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1817, at the age of 15, Major Moniac, a Creek Indian, received an appointment to West Point and later graduated in 1822. Major Moniac became the first Native American, the first minority and the first Alabamian to do so. Governor Kay Ivey presented the Alabama Distinguished Service Medal posthumously to Major David Moniac's family at a ceremony in the Old House Chamber at the State Capitol. Major Moniac died in November 1836 during the Second Seminole War in the Battle of Wahoo Swamp. Read more.