As usual - we start with the Civil War and the two big battles occurring on July 1st - Malvern HIll and Gettysburg.
5 Medals for this day at Malvern Hill, 1862 Even though McClellan won this fight, which capped the back and forth slaughter of the Seven Days, he allowed it to stop his further pressure on Richmond and withdrew, entrenching at Harrison's Landing. This in turn freed up Jackson's men, whom Lee sent against Pope's army along the Rapidan River, initiating the Northern Virginia Campaign. Something similar happened to Lee, where a tactical victory at Antietam still resulted in strategic defeat as he was rendered unable to continue his invasion of Maryland.
BRONNER, AUGUST F.
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 1st New York Artillery. Place and date: At White Oak Swamp, Va., 30 June 1862. At Malvern Hill, Va., 1 July 1862. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Germany. Date of issue: Unknown. Citation: Continued to fight after being severely wounded.
OSBORNE, WILLIAM H.
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 29th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Malvern Hill, Va., 1 July 1862. Entered service at:------. Birth: Scituate, Mass. Date of issue: 1 April 1898. Citation: Although wounded and carried to the rear, he secured a rifle and voluntarily returned to the front, where, failing to find his own regiment, he joined another and fought with it until again severely wounded and taken prisoner.
RAFFERTY, PETER
Rank and organization: Private, Company B, 69th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Malvern Hill, Va., 1 July 1862. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 2 August 1897. Citation: Having been wounded and directed to the rear, declined to go, but continued in action, receiving several additional wounds, which resulted in his capture by the enemy and his total disability for military service.
RIPLEY, WILLIAM Y. W.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters. Place and date: At Malvern Hill, Va., 1 July 1862. Entered service at: Rutland, Vt. Birth:------. Date of issue: 11 March 1893. Citation: At a critical moment brought up two regiments, which he led against the enemy himself, being severely wounded.
TOBIN, JOHN M.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant and Adjutant, 9th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Malvern Hill, Va., 1 July 1862. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 11 March 1896. Citation: Voluntarily took command of the 9th Massachusetts while adjutant, bravely fighting from 3 p.m. until dusk, rallying and re_forming the regiment under fire; twice picked up the regimental flag, the color bearer having been shot down, and placed it in worthy hands.
Herman Melville, of Moby Dick fame, penned a poem about Malvern Hill. Let's get a little literary with the series:
Ye elms that wave on Malvern Hill
In prime of morn and May,
Recall ye how McClellan's men
Here stood at bay?
While deep within yon forest dim
Our rigid comrades lay--
Some with the cartridge in their mouth,
Others with fixed arms lifted South--
Invoking so
The cypress glades? Ah wilds of woe!
The spires of Richmond, late beheld
Through rifts in musket-haze,
Were closed from view in clouds of dust
On leaf-walled ways,
Where streamed our wagons in caravan;
And the Seven Nights and Days
Of march and fast, retreat and fight,
Pinched our grimed faces to ghastly plight--
Does the elm wood
Recall the haggard beards of blood?
The battle-smoked flag, with stars eclipsed,
We followed (it never fell!)--
In silence husbanded our strength--
Received their yell;
Till on this slope we patient turned
With cannon ordered well;
Reverse we proved was not defeat;
But ah, the sod what thousands meet!--
Does Malvern Wood
Bethink itself, and muse and brood?
We elms of Malvern Hill
Remember every thing;
But sap the twig will fill:
Wag the world how it will,
Leaves must be green in Spring.
I wonder if Carl Sandburg drew inspiration from that last verse for his own poem, Grass.
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Moving on, 1 year later. Lee is invading the North, hoping to cut Washington off from the rest of the nation. 10 Medals for the first day of Gettysburg, 1863 Get a perspective of the first day's fighting, which has to count as a Confederate win, at the National Park Service's Gettysburg website.
COATES, JEFFERSON
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: Boscobel, Wis. Birth: Grant County, Wis. Date of issue: 29 June 1866. Citation: Unsurpassed courage in battle, where he had both eyes shot out.
GILLIGAN, EDWARD L.
Rank and organization: First Sergeant, Company E, 88th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 30 April 1892. Citation: Assisted in the capture of a Confederate flag by knocking down the color sergeant.
HUIDEKOPER, HENRY S.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Born: 17 July 1839, Meadville, Pa. Date of issue: 27 May 1905. Citation: While engaged in repelling an attack of the enemy, received a severe wound of the right arm, but instead of retiring remained at the front in command of the regiment.
IRSCH, FRANCIS
Rank and organization: Captain, Company D, 45th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth:------. Date of issue: 27 May 1892. Citation: Gallantry in flanking the enemy and capturing a number of prisoners and in holding a part of the town against heavy odds while the Army was rallying on Cemetery Hill.
REISINGER, J. MONROE
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: Meadville, Pa. Birth: Beaver County, Pa. Date of issue: Unknown. Citation: Specially brave and meritorious conduct in the face of the enemy. Awarded under Act of Congress, January 25, 1907.
RUTTER, JAMES M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 143d Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Wilkes_Barre, Pa. Date of issue: 30 October 1896. Citation: At great risk of his life went to the assistance of a wounded comrade, and while under fire removed him to a place of safety.
SELLERS, ALFRED J.
Rank and organization: Major, 90th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: Pennsylvania. Born: 2 March 1836, Plumsteadville, Bucks County, Pa. Date of issue: 21 July 1894. Citation: Voluntarily led the regiment under a withering fire to a position from which the enemy was repulsed.
WALLER, FRANCIS A.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company I, 6th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 1 July 1863. Entered service at: DeSoto, Vernon County, Wis. Birth: Gurney, Ohio. Date of issue: 1 December 1864. Citation: Capture of flag of 2d Mississippi Infantry (C.S.A.).
Interim Awards, 1871-1898. Today, these would be Navy and Marine Corps Medals, the highest award for bravery not involving combat.
AHERN, WILLIAM
Rank and organization: Watertender, U.S. Navy. Born: 1861, Ireland. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.: 482, 1 November 1897. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Puritan at the time of the collapse of one of the crown sheets of boiler E of that vessel, 1 July 1897. Wrapped in wet cloths to protect his face and arms, Ahern entered the fireroom, crawled over the tops of the boilers and closed the auxiliary stop valve, disconnecting boiler E and removing the danger of disabling the other boilers.
WILSON, AUGUST
Rank and organization: Boilermaker, U.S. Navy. Born: 1 March 1864, Danzig, Germany. Accredited to: New York. G.O. No.. 482, November 1897. Citation: For gallant conduct while serving on board the U.S.S. Puritan and at the time of the collapse of one of the crown sheets of boiler E on that vessel, 1 July 1897. Wrapping wet cloths about his face and arms, Wilson entered the fireroom and opened the safety valve, thus removing the danger of disabling the other boilers.
War with Spain - big day in the Spanish-American War.
15 Medals for the opening moves in the Battle of Santiago - the battle of El Caney/San Juan Hill and Glory for the Rough Riders - and the passing of the guidon, so to speak. Civil War former Confederate General Joe Wheeler commands the Cavalry in the last gasp of the Civil War generation, while a young Lieutenant John "Black Jack" Pershing finds himself leading Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry - famous residents of Fort Leavenworth.
BERG, GEORGE
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: ______. Birth: Wayne County, Ill. Date of issue: Unknown. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and while under heavy fire of the enemy.
CANTRELL, CHARLES P.
Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 10th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Nashville, Tenn. Born: 13 February 1874, Smithville, Tenn. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
CUMMINS, ANDREW J.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 10th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: ______. Birth: Alexandria, Ind. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire of the enemy.
DE SWAN, JOHN F.
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
DOHERTY, THOMAS M.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Newcastle, Maine. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and while under heavy fire from the enemy.
FOURNIA, FRANK O.
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Plattsburg, N.Y. Birth: Rome, N.Y. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and while under heavy fire of the enemy.
KELLER, WILLIAM
Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 10th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago de Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Buffalo, N.Y. Birth: Buffalo, N.Y. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire of the enemy.
KELLY, THOMAS
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago de Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and while under heavy fire from the enemy.
MILLS, ALBERT L.
Rank and organization: Captain and Assistant Adjutant General, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: Near Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: New York, N.Y. Date of issue: 9 July 1902. Citation: Distinguished gallantry in encouraging those near him by his bravery and coolness after being shot through the head and entirely without sight.
NASH, JAMES J.
Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 10th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Louisville, Ky. Birth: Louisville, Ky. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
NEE, GEORGE H.
Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Birth: Boston, Mass. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
PFISTERER, HERMAN
Rank and organization: Musician, Company H, 21st U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at New York, N.Y. Birth: Brooklyn, N.Y. Date of issue: 22 June 1899 Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
POLOND, ALFRED
Rank and organization: Private, Company F, 10th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Lapeer, Mich. Birth: Lapeer, Mich. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and while under heavy fire of the enemy.
QUINN, ALEXANDER M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company A, 13th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At Santiago, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Birth: Passaic, N.J. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
8 Medals for the Battle of El Caney
BROOKIN, OSCAR
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Green County, Ohio. Birth: Byron, Wis. Date of issue: 21 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
BUZZARD, ULYSSES G.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company C, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: ______. Birth: Armstrong, Pa. Date of issue: 24 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
GRAVES, THOMAS J.
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Millville, Ind. Birth: Milton, Ind. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
HARDAWAY, BENJAMIN F.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 17th U .S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at:______. Birth: Benleyville, Ky. Date of issue: 21 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.
RESSLER, NORMAN W.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company D, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Dalmatia, Pa. Birth: Dalmatia, Pa. Date of issue: 21 August 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire of the enemy.
ROBERTS, CHARLES D.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo. Birth: Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo. Date of issue: 21 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines under heavy fire of the enemy.
SHEPHERD, WARREN J.
Rank and organization: Corporal, Company D, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Westover, Pa. Birth: Cherry Tree, Pa. Date of issue: 21 August 1899. citation. Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines under heavy fire from the enemy.
WENDE, BRUNO
Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 17th U.S. Infantry. Place and date: At El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898. Entered service at: Canton, Ohio. Birth: Germany. Date of issue: 22 June 1899. Citation: Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy
And we can't forget, of course - Teddy.
ROOSEVELT, THEODORE
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to
LIEUTENANT COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT
UNITED STATES ARMY
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt distinguished himself by acts of bravery on 1 July, 1898, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, while leading a daring charge up San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside. Facing the enemy's heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the frst to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the Battle for San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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