Medal of Honor

Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott and although it was created for the Civil War, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863.

The Chicago Mercantile Battery was one of the most renowned artillery units in the Civil War.  These six members of the Battery received the prestigious Medal of Honor for pulling a cannon by hand up to a heavily defended Confederate fort at Vicksburg.

Medal Citation:    Carried with others by hand a cannon up to and fired it through an embrasure of the enemy’s work.

Source:  Congressional Medal of Honor Society, 40 Patriots Point Rd, Mt Pleasant SC 29464

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