Medals of Honor at Stones River

Stones River Stories

During the Battle of Stones River, a total of nine Medals of Honor were awarded to soldiers who displayed valor above and beyond the call of duty. Two of those medals were awarded for actions prior to the main engagement, while the remaining seven were awarded for actions on December 31, 1862. The first of those medals was not awarded until nearly 25 years after the battle, the first recipients being volunteer soldiers who had gone on to serve in the regular army as officers. Six more medals would be awarded during the 1890s with the last medal being awarded to John Farquhar of the 89^th Illinois in 1902.

          The first Medal of Honor awarded for action at Stones River went to John Gregory Bourke, formerly of Co. E of the 15^th Pennsylvania Cavalry which was also known as the Anderson Troop. Bourke, born in Philadelphia to Irish immigrant parents in 1846, lied about his age and enlisted in the Anderson Troop on October 13, 1862. During the Stones River campaign, the Troop served as part of the Reserve Cavalry and took part in numerous hard-fought engagements, perhaps the hardest being the one which took place just before sunset on December 31, 1862, near the Overall’s Creek crossing of the Nashville Pike.

          General Joseph Wheeler, having completed a ride around Rosecrans’s army, was dispatched by General Braxton Bragg to go around the army’s left and see if he could cut the Federal hold on the Nashville Pike near Overall’s Creek. As Wheeler’s troopers closed in, General David Stanley, commanding Rosecrans’ cavalry, organized a charge to drive back Wheeler and called on the Anderson Troop to join him in the charge. The Pennsylvanians, shaky after the drubbing they had taken two days before at Wilkinson’s Crossroads, resisted his command. According to Colonel Robert H.G. Minty, Stanley bellowed, “The man who does not follow me is a damned coward,” then wheeled his horse and “dashed back to the two companies of the 4^th Michigan Cavalry. The Pennsylvanians followed and with a raging cheer this little band of heroes charged home into the center of the Rebels and drove it from the field.”  

John G. Bourke, Anderson Troop

Among those who charged with Stanley was John Bourke. It is worth noting that the Anderson Troop had originally been recruited as headquarters guards and escorts; after Stones River, they resumed that role which placed Bourke in close proximity to General George H. Thomas who at the close of the war nominated Bourke to West Point.  Upon graduation in 1869, he joined the 3^rd U.S. Cavalry and served as General George Crook’s chief of scouts during the Apache Wars. A prolific writer, Bourke penned numerous books about life on the frontier including An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre (1887) and On the Border with Crook (1892). Captain Bourke was awarded the Medal of Honor November 16, 1887, his citation reading simply “gallantry in action.”

          Two days later, Bourke’s comrade John Tweedale, who also served in the Anderson Troop, was awarded the Medal of Honor, likewise for “gallantry in action.” Tweedale joined Co. B of the Anderson Troop in August 1862 and served with the regiment until nearly the end of the war. He subsequently served in the regular Army, served as Chief Clerk of the War Department, eventually becoming assistant adjutant general in 1904 and retiring as a colonel in 1905. Interestingly, two soldiers from the Anderson Troop (Sergeant Henry C. Butcher of Co. B and Private Samuel B. Holt of Co. L) were credited with capturing the silk colors of the 3^rd Alabama Cavalry Battalion during the action that netted Bourke and Tweedale their medals, but neither man who ever nominated for a Medal of Honor.

John Tweedale, Anderson Troop

          On June 23, 1890, First Lieutenant Ninevah S. McKeen of Marshall, Illinois, who had formerly served in Co. H of the 21^st Illinois Infantry, was awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry on two occasions. Late in the afternoon of December 30, 1862, as General Alexander McCook’s wing moved into position on the Union right at Stones River, the 21^st Illinois was ordered to charge Captain Felix Robertson’s Confederate battery which was pummeling the Union advance. The Illinoisans made a brave charge but failed to take the guns while suffered heavily, losing 135 men in less than an hour. Among the casualties was Lieutenant McKeen who sustained three wounds. McKeen was briefly captured by the Confederates the following morning but escaped and rejoined the regiment.

           During the Battle of Liberty Gap in June 1863, McKeen again distinguished himself by capturing the colors of the 8^th Arkansas Infantry. Fortune turned against McKeen at Chickamauga as he captured on the second day of the day and spent the next several months as a prisoner of war at Macon, Georgia and Libby Prison in Richmond. McKeen was among the officers who took part in the Great Escape in February 1864; he soon returned to his regiment and resigned his commission, serving briefly in the Commissary Department in the final months of the war. Lieutenant McKeen received his Medal of Honor on June 23, 1890, less than six months before he died at the age of 53.

Ninevah S. McKeen, 21st Illinois

          Three medals were awarded in 1894, all to members of the famed Regular Brigade of the Army of the Cumberland. Frederick Phisterer was serving as adjutant of the 2^nd Battalion of the 18^th U.S. Infantry at Stones River. The Regulars had started to deploy in the cedar forest late that morning but a mix-up in orders led to the battalion marching into the forest without artillery support.  Turning to Phisterer, Major Frederick Townsend ordered the lieutenant to ride forward and find the rest of the brigade and (ideally) the missing guns.

Phisterer galloped through a blizzard of gunfire for several minutes along a pioneer road before finding Major Adam Slemmer and the 16th U.S. in their clash with General James Rains’s Brigade. Slemmer informed Phisterer he had not seen Guenther’s battery, indicating that those guns had likely retreated. Phisterer told Slemmer that the brigade’s left wing would therefore retreat to support Guenther, meaning Slemmer’s men would be isolated and in danger of capture. That realization compelled Slemmer to retire as well, a decision made easier by knowledge the 15th U.S. on his right was already pulling back.  Phisterer rode back to rejoin his battalion as it exited the woods. His actions “unquestionably saved Slemmer’s battalion and probably another from annihilation or capture.”

Frederick Phisterer, 18th US

An immigrant from the Kingdom of Wurttemburg, Phisterer stayed in the army after the Civil War, participating the Indian Wars until 1870 when he was discharged at the rank of captain. He returned to New York and served with the National Guard until retirement in 1902 as the state’s adjutant general. Phisterer was also a prolific writer, penning the Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States (1883) and New York in the War of the Rebellion (1912). He received his Medal of Honor on December 12, 1894, the citation stating that he “voluntarily conveyed under a heavy fire information to the commander of a battalion of regular troops by which the battalion was saved from capture or annihilation.”

          Henry B. Freeman of Mount Vernon, Ohio was serving as a company officer in the 18^th U.S. at Stones River. It was approaching noon on December 31, 1862, when the Regulars were ordered to launch a counterattack into the cedars to buy critical time for General George Thomas to arrange a new defensive line along Nashville Pike. In a swirling combat, the Regulars held their ground for 20 minutes taking very heavy casualties.  

“Ere our brigade was fairly in position, the volunteers who were on our right gave way, as we had done before, being forced to yield the ground on account of vastly superior numbers,” said Sergeant Frank Reed of the 15th U.S. “We had gone but four or five rods when the enemy again came towering down upon us like the rolling thunder of heaven, engulfing us on the right and in front-making an attempt at extrication, almost certain death; and so, it proved to be, for scarcely a man came out without having been wounded or having the marks of a bullet in his clothing.”

Henry B. Freeman, 18th U.S. Infantry

The open field grew carpeted with blue coats as hundreds of retreating Regulars went down killed or wounded. Lieutenant Freeman heard the cries of one and stopped to see that it was Captain Henry Douglass of the 18th U.S. Noticing Douglass was about to be captured, historian Mark Johnson wrote that Freeman “left his battalion and ran through a storm of bullets, picked Douglass up, and carried him to safety.”

          Like Ninevah McKeen, Lieutenant Freeman was captured at Chickamauga and imprisoned at Libby. He escaped once but was recaptured then escaped again. He remained in the army until mandatory retirement as a brigadier general at age 64 in 1901, having served through both the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American war. Freeman was presented his Medal of Honor on February 17, 1894, the citation praising that he “voluntarily went to the front and picked up and carried to a place of safety, under a heavy fire from the enemy, an acting field officer who had been wounded, and was about to fall into enemy hands.”

Joseph Prentice, 19th U.S. Infantry

          Private Joseph Rollin Prentice of Co. E, 1^st Battalion, 19^th U.S. also was awarded his Medal of Honor for actions taken at almost the same time as Lieutenant Freeman. Major Stephen D. Carpenter, commanding the 19^th U.S., was killed during the retreat described above. “Suddenly, above the din and roar of battle, I heard the major call out ‘Scatter and run boys!’ and was about to join the rest in the rush to a place of safety when I heard a horse bearing down on me like mad,” Prentice recalled. It was Carpenter’s horse, and Prentice secured permission to find his battalion commander.

“Back I went at the top of my speed and as soon as I entered the clearing, the enemy’s sharpshooters opened a brisk fire on me. Still, I was bound to find the major if possible and knowing about where he fell, rushed to the spot. Bullets ploughed up little puffs of dust at my feet and whistled around my head. Glancing round, I saw him lying face downward upon the dust and rushed to his assistance. But, poor fellow, he was past need of human assistance! Nevertheless, I picked him up and carried him to the rear, my ears filled with the mournful dirge of bullets that threatened me at every step.” 

Another native of Ohio, Joseph Prentice enlisted in the 19^th U.S. while living near Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1861 and served out his three-year term of service. He was awarded his medal on February 3, 1894, while living near Hebron, Nebraska, the citation reading “gallantry in action.” After receiving the medal, Prentice told a local newspaper reporter “I would not take a farm for it.”

Milton Russell, 51st Indiana

          Captain Milton Russell received his Medal of Honor on September 28, 1897, for his actions at Harker’s Crossing on the evening of December 29, 1862. His brigade, under the command of Colonel Charles G. Harker, had received orders to force a crossing of Stones River with the intent of pushing into Murfreesboro. Harker’s men blundered into the Orphan Brigade atop Wayne’s Hill and a ferocious nighttime engagement ensued.

Captain Russell was leading Co. A of the 51^st Indiana in the vanguard of Harker’s attack and recalled that “we moved down and crossed the river, wading it with the water in some places up to our hips. Talk about cold water or a cold bath, it was so cold that our teeth chattered! As the company was nearing the opposite shore, a terrific volley was fired from behind a rail fence not over 40 steps in our front. The enemy, being on higher ground than we, fired too high, their bullets taking effect in the regiment that was standing in line where we left them on the opposite side of the river.”

“There was but two ways out of the trap: one was to recross the river; the other was to advance,” he continued.  It flashed through my mind that their guns were empty, ours loaded. I gave the command, ‘On the right into line, double quick, charge!’ And in less time that it takes to tell it, we were over that fence. The boys emptied their guns, fixed bayonets, and went at them. The Johnnies gave way and Co. A followed right on their heels.” Russell would receive the Medal of Honor as “the first man to cross Stones River in the face of a galling fire from the concealed skirmishers of the enemy, leading his skirmishers up the hillside, and driving the opposing skirmishers before them.” The captain later contended that, “had the charge proved a failure, I would have been court-martialed for exceeding my orders.”

Wilson Vance had just turned 17 years old when he saved the life of a comrade at Stones River. The Findlay, Ohio native joined Co. D of the 21^st Ohio Infantry at age 15 in August 1861 and by the time of Stones River was serving as an orderly to brigade commander Colonel John F. Miller. After fighting in the cedars (near tour stop 2 at Stones River National Battlefield Park), Miller’s brigade was forced to retreat with Confederate forces nearly surrounding them. Exiting the woods under fire, Vance was riding at Miller’s side when they spied one of Miller’s orderlies, Nicholas Vail of the 19^th Illinois, staggering between the lines apparently dazed.

Wilson J. Vance, 21st Ohio Infantry

“Poor Nick had been shot right plumb in the crazy bone,” Vance recalled. “His blood-drenched sleeve showed that he was wounded and his actions were those of a man demented. It seemed as if his elbow joint was shattered. He certainly was a wild man and extremely difficult to handle.” Vance dismounted and, “by dint of arguing with the crazy fellow and hard pushing, lifting, and shoving, finally had the sufferer in the saddle. I smote the little mare with the flat of a saber a resounding thwack across the rump which sent her careening forward after the vanishing bluecoats.”

When he turned around, he spotted the surging Confederates mere yards away howling for his surrender before sending “a storm of bullets about my ears, they were so close I could almost discern the color of their eyes.” It was at this moment, he recalled that “began a mad chase for life. I ran as I never ran before,” and it was not an easy matter to run at all. The low-hanging cedar boughs struck me and scratched my face while the little boulders tripped me up and the big ones placed themselves in my blind spot to be fallen over. To cap the climax and complete my embarrassment, the great cavalry saber which in my boyish ardor I had buckled on kept thrusting itself between my legs. It seemed that from one cause or another I tumbled down at every other step.” Flopping head over heels, clumsy “great cavalry saber” notwithstanding, Vance successfully dodged Southern lead and escaped the cedars.

          Vance was commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1863, but would only stay in the army until the following April when he resigned his commission at age 18. He received his Medal of Honor on September 17, 1897, the 35^th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the citation stating that Vance “voluntarily and under a heavy fire while his command was falling back, rescued a wounded and helpless comrade from death or capture.”

          The last Medal of Honor for actions at Stones River was awarded to Sergeant Major John McGreath Farquhar of the 89^th Illinois on August 6, 1902. Farquhar, a 30-year-old-native of Scotland, enlisted in the 89^th Illinois, also known as The Railroad Regiment, in August 1862 and was quickly promoted to the rank of sergeant major. His actions occurred at perhaps the lowest ebb of the battle. Following a dawn assault, the troops of General Richard Johnson’s division were broken and falling back towards the Wilkinson Pike under an incessant Confederate fire. The 89^th Illinois, in action for the first time, was in danger of coming apart due to the loss of field officers, but Sergeant Major Farquhar kept his head and steadily reformed the regiment.

John M. Farquhar, 89th Illinois Infantry 

“Seeing that the day was lost unless something was done at once deployed his regiment and organized the stray and running troops into a new line,” the Buffalo Evening News later reported. Once Farquhar had a line in place, he offered the command to several officers who flatly refused “and told the sergeant major to go ahead and finish what he commenced.” For his actions, Farquhar was commissioned a captain in February 1863 and received the Medal of Honor in 1902. His citation read “when a break occurred on the extreme right wing of the Army of the Cumberland, this soldier rallied fugitives from other commands, and deployed his own regiment, thereby checking the Confederate advance until a new line was established.”

To learn more about the Stones River campaign, be sure to check out my new book "Hell by the Acre: A Narrative History of the Stones River Campaign" available now from Savas Beatie.