First Bull Run Medal of Honor Winner at 1st Manassas

hoosier

1st Lieutenant
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Carlisle, PA
We haven't had a trivia question on the board for a while, so I thought I would post one.

The movie Gods and Generals covered the battle of 1st Manassas pretty much entirely from the Confederate view. I can't recall a single Union character with a line of dialogue during that battle sequence.

However, there was one Union soldier in particular who conducted himself with considerable distinction at that battle. He entered the battle as a lieutenant, freshly graduated from West Point. He was in command of a section of artillery, and continued to exercise his command function even after being severely wounded in the thigh. In recognition of his gallantry at that battle, he was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor.

Although the movie Gods and Generals does not mention this man's role at 1st Manassas, he does appear later in the movie. Who was he?
 
Yes, I am certain. Although the medal was not awarded to the soldier in question until 1894, it was definitely awarded as a result of his actions in that battle.

If it helps your search any, I can tell you that, although the movie referred to the battle as 1st Manassas, the citation associated with the medal calls the battle by the name by which the Union referred to it, i.e., Bull Run, rather than Manassas.
 
Would it be First Lieutenant Charles J. Murphy

Gunsmoke.
 
Sorry, Gunsmoke, Murphy's not the one I was thinking of.

He did indeed win the Medal of Honor for his actions at 1st Manassas/Bull Run, but he was an infantryman, and as far as I know, he does not appear (at least, not as an identifiable character) in the movie Gods and Generals.
 
I believe that First Lieutenant Adelbert Ames, might be your man.

Gunsmoke
 
You got it! Adelbert Ames, the man who subsequently went on to become Joshua Chamberlain's predecessor as commander of the 20th Maine infantry.

When I watched the movie, I noted that, while it did make the point that Ames was responsible for teaching Chamberlain the importance of drill, it told us very little else about Ames. I went searching on the Internet for some more information about him, and the Medal of Honor citation was one of the things I found.
 
You got it! Adelbert Ames, the man who subsequently went on to become Joshua Chamberlain's predecessor as commander of the 20th Maine infantry.

When I watched the movie, I noted that, while it did make the point that Ames was responsible for teaching Chamberlain the importance of drill, it told us very little else about Ames. I went searching on the Internet for some more information about him, and the Medal of Honor citation was one of the things I found.

Here's a link to Gettysburg Daily where Christina Moon talks about Adelbert Ames, you might find it interesting if you haven't already seen it yet. The main focus is about what he did at Gettysburg but she does cover other stuff in his life too

http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=10769

There was another CMH awarded for actions at Bull Run to Walter H. Cooke. In the war there were more chances to get a CHM not that I am saying it was an easy thing to do it or it wasn't heroic. If a soldier captured an enemy flag during battle that were generally awarded a CMH I think there were 63 CMH awarded for action that occurred at Gettysburg alone.
 
A common error is to call the award in question the Congressional Medal of Honor. The official name is simply the Medal of Honor.
 
It is still happening. W.H.L Wallace was awarded the MOH in the past few years for actions at Shiloh, which was fought prior to the battle being fought.
It seems to me to be a stretch to award a medla to someone for actions that took place prior to the medal's inception..
 
It is still happening. W.H.L Wallace was awarded the MOH in the past few years for actions at Shiloh, which was fought prior to the battle being fought.
It seems to me to be a stretch to award a medla to someone for actions that took place prior to the medal's inception..

It's been done since. The modern Purple Heart when adopted in 1932 was retroactive to 1917. The Sliver Star Medal replaced the Sliver Star Citation stars on campaign medals.
 
Here's a link to Gettysburg Daily where Christina Moon talks about Adelbert Ames, you might find it interesting if you haven't already seen it yet. The main focus is about what he did at Gettysburg but she does cover other stuff in his life too

http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=10769

NJWilliams, thank you for the link.

I met Christina Moon some years ago at an MHO muster in Gettysburg, where she conducted a tour covering the Confederate actions on the second day.

She was living in the Midwest at the time and traveled all the way to Pennsylvania to conduct that tour. It was easy to see that she was very enthusiastic about Gettysburg.

I hadn't heard about her in quite some time, but I'm happy to see that she has become an LBG at Gettysburg. I would think getting that job was truly the fulfillment of a dream for her.
 
Another interesting bit of trivia re the MOH. http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/jordan-george-1849-1904

I could have sworn this Tennessean's first name was Charlie, but oh well...The interesting tidbit I picked up in a book on black recipients of the medal was that many troopers preferred the Certificate of Merit mentioned in this link because it got you a pay raise of $2.00 a month, IIRC.
 
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