"Heirloom" is the week 8 challenge for "52 Ancestors", and here is my entry: the Medal of Honor awarded to my Third Great-Grandfather, James William Brown of Kittery, Maine. While not technically an heirloom, as it was not in the possession of any member of my family for MANY years and was not passed down to me by kin (it ended up in the hands of a collector out west, whose heirs found me due to my website on the 27th Maine), it nevertheless made it back "home", and I am proud to display it.
What exactly did Private James W Brown do to earn this medal? He was among 300 soldiers of the 27th Maine Infantry Regiment who agreed to stay behind in Washington, DC in July 1863, while the Army of the Potomac marched to Gettysburg. He was not engaged in battle, nor proved himself by any act of heroism in the face of the enemy. He and his unit were all packed up and ready to head back to Maine, as they were just a nine-month regiment, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton sent a messenger to their camp with his request for them to stay in DC just a bit longer. When Col. Wentworth and 1/3 of the others agreed to stay, Stanton said that they'd get medals for this. The only medals being issued at that time, though, were the medals of honor. So, that is what they got.
What exactly did Private James W Brown do to earn this medal? He was among 300 soldiers of the 27th Maine Infantry Regiment who agreed to stay behind in Washington, DC in July 1863, while the Army of the Potomac marched to Gettysburg. He was not engaged in battle, nor proved himself by any act of heroism in the face of the enemy. He and his unit were all packed up and ready to head back to Maine, as they were just a nine-month regiment, when Secretary of War Edwin Stanton sent a messenger to their camp with his request for them to stay in DC just a bit longer. When Col. Wentworth and 1/3 of the others agreed to stay, Stanton said that they'd get medals for this. The only medals being issued at that time, though, were the medals of honor. So, that is what they got.
There is a lot more to the story of these medals being issued to the 27th Maine men, and the rescinding of all of them during the "purge" of 1917, but that is all covered in the book "A Shower of Stars" by John Pullen.
 | Note that the flag ribbon is not the original that was issued with the MoH, but looks like one that came from a GAR medal or badge.  |
RSS Feed
