Salute A Soldier

[Moonshiner]

Pick out a soldier that you have a high regard for and let us know why you salute them. Please don't list a distant relative though.

I salute Powhatan Beaty. He was born a slave in Virginia and came to Ohio at a young age. He had won his freedom by the time the Civil War began in 1861.

When the Union Army began forming all-black regiments in 1863, Beaty was eager to join. He became a first sergeant in the 5th U.S. Colored Troops. In a September 1864 battle in his home state of Virginia, Beaty's bravery won him the highest honor a soldier can attain - the Medal of Honor.

SALUTE!

Powhatan Beaty wearing his Medal of Honor

Marker at Union Baptist Cemetery in Cincinnati

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland, CSA (The Angel of Marye's Heights : Battle of Fredericksburg)

 

[hanna260]

Alonzo Cushing.

Was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama. Was wounded three times on the last day of Gettysburg and was held aloft after refusing to go to the rear. Died at age 22.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I salute Capt. Hubert Dilger, who was awarded one Medal of Honor for his epic stand at Chancellorsville, and should have been awarded another one for Gettysburg, and who was probably the single finest company level artillery officer in any Civil War army. He had the colorful nickname of Leatherbreeches for his fondness for wearing leather pants. After Gettysburg Dilger went on leave and didn't report back on schedule. He was charged with being AWOL, and was court-martialed for it. Likely as a result of the court-martial, he never received a promotion even though he richly deserved one.

Dilger's skills with a cannon were legendary. Since his English was not good, he trained his cannoneers to respond to a series of handclaps. His guns single-handedly held back Jackson's pursuit of the routed 11th Corps on May 2, 1863. On July 1, 1863, he personally sited a gun, pulled the lanyard, and put a Confederate gun on Oak Hill out of commission by nearly putting the shell down the barrel. After firing that shot, he turned and said, "I have spiked it for them." He then made a similar fighting retreat from his position north of Gettysburg College back to East Cemetery Hill that greatly resembled what he did at Chancellorsville.

For many years, it was thought that he had fired the artillery shot that did the greatest service to the Confederacy of any artillery shell of the war: the one that Leonidas Polk did such a poor job of catching on Pine Mountain in Georgia in 1864. However, recent scholarship has proved that it could not have been one of Dilger's Parrott guns.

Dilger was a remarkably gifted artillerist who never achieved the level of rank that he deserved. On two different occasions, he almost single-handedly saved the 11th Corps from destruction.

 

[Drew]

I will offer Berry Greenwood Benson, who at age 17 enlisted with his 16 year-old brother, Blackwood, in late 1860 and was mustered into the 1st South Carolina Infantry. Benson served from Ft. Sumter to Appomattox Courthouse and refusing to surrender there, marched toward North Carolina with his brother in search of General Johnston's Army. He was captured twice and escaped both times, from Point Lookout, MD and again from Elmira, NY. He fought with Stonewall Jackson's "Foot Cavalry" and in many of the great battles of the war.

I salute him for his dedication, tenacity, good humor and diligence in keeping a diary, which was honed by his descendants to tell a remarkable story of the war. Benson's story, Confederate Scout-Sniper, is available to all of us and is very worthwhile.

SALUTE!!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

As an honorable mention, I give you the remarkable David Frakes Day: http://civilwarcavalry.com/?page_id=1186

 

[AUG]

Sgt. George A. Branard, color-bearer of the 1st Texas Infantry.

Born on Galveston Island on January 5, 1843, Branard enlisted in Co. L, "Lone Star Rifles" of the 1st Texas Inf. He was said to be one of the bravest men in the regiment. At Gettysburg, Branard famously planted the First's colors at the summit of Houck's Ridge on July 2, 1863. After being wounded by a shell, he refused to pass on the flag until he fell unconscious and was carried to the rear by his comrades. He was wounded a second time in the Knoxville Campaign, losing his arm. Afterwards, he was reassigned as sergeant in the ambulance corps, and remained in that position until the end of the war. He returned home to Texas, married and had ten children, and never missed a Texas Brigade reunion.

 

[ole]

Rueben Cyrus Erickson whose grandfather fought with the 15th Wisconsin. Cut down during the Korean War.

 

[1SGDan]

CW3 (Ret) Francis R, O'Connell, Legion of Merit recipient for duty in Somalia.
TSGT (Deceased) Francis G. O'Connell, World War II veteran.