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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Captain · U.S. Army

Augustus Merrill

Captain Augustus Merrill, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 2, 1865 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 2, 1865

Captain Augustus Merrill, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on April 2, 1865 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company B, 1st Maine Veteran Infantry. Merrill was 21 years old.

65 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on October 23, 1891, 26 years after the action.

Merrill was born on October 4, 1843 in Byron, Oxford County, Maine. His Medal of Honor is credited to Lyndon, Aroostook County, Maine. Merrill died on November 14, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 52. He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Merrill is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 66 credited to Maine.

Official Medal of Honor citation

With six men, captured 69 Confederate prisoners and recaptured several soldiers who had fallen into the enemy's hands.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

Timeline

  1. October 4, 1843
    Born in Byron, Oxford County, Maine
  2. April 2, 1865
    Act of valor — Petersburg, Virginia
    Age 21. Company B, 1st Maine Veteran Infantry
  3. October 23, 1891
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. November 14, 1895
    Died in Chicago, Illinois
    Age 52.
  5. Resting place
    Graceland Cemetery
    Chicago, Illinois

Also honored for actions on April 2, 1865

AA Abner Peeler Allen Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 AA Andrew O. Apple Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 William J. Babcock Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 JB James Albert Barber Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 EB Eugene Beauharnais Beaumont Major and Assistant Adjutant General · Army Civil War · 1865 William Robert douglas Blackwood Surgeon · Army Civil War · 1865 JB John W. Boutwell Private · Army Civil War · 1865 JB John E. Buffington Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 CC Carlton N. Camp Private · Army Civil War · 1865 JC John Corcoran Private · Army Civil War · 1865 Stephen Potter Corliss First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 JC Josiah M. Curtis Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865

See all 66 recipients for April 2, 1865 →

More Civil War recipients from Maine

JM John Mack Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 Charles Henry Smith Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864 JV James W. Verney Chief Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1865 Henry Clay Merriam Lieutenant Colonel · Army Civil War · 1865 ST Sidney Warren Thaxter Major · Army Civil War · 1864 MH Moses C. Hanscom Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.