William Bumgarner
Sergeant William Bumgarner (July 12, 1837 – December 24, 1911) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Bumgarner received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Petersburg, Virginia on 2 April 1862. He was honored with the award on 10 July 1894.[1][2][3]
William Bumgarner | |
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Born | Mason County, West Virginia | July 12, 1837
Died | December 24, 1911 74) Indiana | (aged
Buried | Mossburg Cemetery |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | ![]() |
Awards | ![]() |
Biography
Bumgarner was born in Mason County, West Virginia on 12 July 1837. He enlisted into the 4th West Virginia Infantry. He died on 24 December 1911 and his remains are interred at the Mossburg Cemetery in Indiana.
On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi[4]. The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack. This was diversionary charge on the Confederate position known as the Stockade Redan – a charge that was intended to draw fire away from the real planned attack.[5]
The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. The assault began in the early morning following a naval bombardment[4].
The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were killed. Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor citation
Gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party.[1][2]
See also
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
- Battle of Vicksburg
- 4th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Notes
- "Civil War (A-L) Medal of Honor Recipients". Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- "William Bumgarner". Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- "U.S. Army Medal of Honor Recipients". Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- War Department (1880), p. 87.
- Dyer (1908), p. 428.
References
- Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
- War Department, U.S. (1880). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
- "BUMGARNER, WILLIAM". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- "William Bumgarner". THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS. VCOnline. 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
External links
- "William Bumgarner". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- A Forlorn Hope
- Vicksburg Medal of Honor Recipients