The picture above is the Congressional Medal of Honor that was awarded to Sergeant Major Christian A. Fleetwood of the 4th USCT for his bravery at the Battle of New Market Heights on September 29,1864. It currently resides in the collection of the Smithsonian Institute. His citation reads: "Seized the colors, after two color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight."
Fleetwood was one of fourteen USCT's who would be awarded the Medal of Honor for what Colonel Samuel A. Duncan called "unflinching heroism" in his account of the battle.
If you're lucky enough to know someone who has earned the Medal of Honor be sure to say "thanks" today - and every day.
Really like your blog! A very worthy subject and endeavor.
ReplyDeleteIs that the standard ribbon used on the MOH's from the CW era? Just curious, because I have seen another original MOH and ribbon and the ribbon looks like that which you usually see on a GAR medal, the US flag.
ReplyDeleteHi Robert! Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog! To answer your question, it appears that the similarity between the MOH and the GAR Member Badge was on purpose. As you know, after the war there was some reassessing done of the criterion for earning a Medal of Honor. This was necessary because one entire Regiment (the 27th Maine) was given the medal just for re-enlisting. So about 900 names were struck from the Roll of Honor and a few names were added. As the opportunity to be awarded an MOH diminished, veterans’ organizations began designing their own awards for presentation to their membership, some of which looked strikingly similar to the Medal of Honor. The GAR designed a medal for their membership which, when viewed in a photo or from a distance, often gave the impression that the individual was wearing a Medal of Honor. Thus, in 1896 legislation had to be passed to make the ribbon more distinctive.
ReplyDeleteSo, Christian Fleetwood's MOH was presented after 1896 then, correct? Interesting, I thought that perhaps the one MOH that I had seen, had been merged with the ribbon from a GAR medal... now I know better. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteActually he received his MOH on April 6, 1865. Most MOH's that I've seen from the Civil War have an American flag as the ribbon but Fleetwood's is different. The Smithsonian site also has a picture of Dan Butterfield's MOH and it has a distinctive ribbon as well. Not sure what to make of all that but if you follow this link (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/93505852/?sid=a5f48fde41a274a5f040378592095176) you can see Fleetwood along with the officers of the 4th USCT. He's the one fourth from the right with the child standing in front of him. If you zoom in, you can see that he's wearing his MOH and his Butler Medal. Quite cool...
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