Brigadier General Richard Henry Pratt (December 6, 1840 â€" March 15,
1924) was an American general who is best known as the founder and
longtime superintendent of the influential Carlisle Indian Industrial
School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is associated with the first
recorded use of the word "racism," which he used in 1902 to criticize
racial segregation. Pratt is also known for using the phrase "kill the
Indian, save the man" in reference to the ethos of the Carlisle Indian
Industrial School and efforts to educate Native Americans.Pratt was
born on December 6, 1840 in Rushford, New York to Richard and Mary
Pratt (née Herrick). He was the eldest of their three sons. He
contracted smallpox as a young child which left him with facial
scarring for the rest of his life. His father moved the family to
Logansport, Indiana in 1847. Pratt's father later left his family to
take part in the California Gold Rush in 1849 but was robbed and
murdered by another prospector leaving Pratt to support his mother and
two brothers.At the outbreak of the American Civil War Pratt enlisted
in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment. After his first three-month term
expired he re-enlisted as a sergeant with the 2nd Regiment Indiana
Cavalry and saw action at the Battle of Chickamauga. While on a
recruiting detail in Indiana during the winter of 1863-1864 Pratt met
Anna Mason. They were married on April 12, 1864. Eight days later he
was commissioned as a first lieutenant with the 11th Regiment Indiana
Cavalry. He served in administrative roles for the remainder of the
war and was mustered out of the Volunteer Service on May 29, 1865 at
the rank of captain. He became a companion of the Military Order of
the Loyal Legion of the United States - a military society for
officers who had served the Union during the Civil War.Pratt returned
to Logansport, Indiana to be reunited with Anna and ran a hardware
store. After two years in the hardware business, he re-entered the
Army in March 1867 as Second Lieutenant in the 10th United States
Cavalry, an African-American regiment composed of black men, including
some who were recently freed from slavery famously known as the
"Buffalo Soldiers" at Fort Sill in the Oklahoma Territory. Richard Henry Pratt Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter