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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Charles Alexander Swan

Private Charles Alexander Swan, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 2, 1865 in Selma, Alabama during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 2, 1865

Private Charles Alexander Swan was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 2, 1865 in Selma, Alabama during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company K, 4th Iowa Cavalry. Swan was 26 years old.

65 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on June 17, 1865.

Swan was born on May 29, 1838 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. His Medal of Honor is credited to Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa. Swan died on January 8, 1924 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, at the age of 85. He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Swan is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 55 credited to Iowa.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

Capture of flag (supposed to be 11th Mississippi, C.S.A.) and bearer.

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

Timeline

  1. May 29, 1838
    Born in Greene County, Pennsylvania
  2. April 2, 1865
    Act of valor — Selma, Alabama
    Age 26. Company K, 4th Iowa Cavalry
  3. June 17, 1865
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. January 8, 1924
    Died in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
    Age 85.
  5. Resting place
    Forest Home Cemetery
    Mount Pleasant, Iowa

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 Iowa

AP Albert Power Private · Army Civil War · 1862 AS Andrew Jackson Sloan Private · Army Civil War · 1864 HB Horatio L. Birdsall Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 HS Henry I. Smith First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 JH James Hill First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 Norman Francis Bates Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865
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.