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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant · U.S. Army

Charles Henry Ilgenfritz

Sergeant Charles Henry Ilgenfritz, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 2, 1865 at Fort Sedgwick, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 2, 1865

Sergeant Charles Henry Ilgenfritz, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on April 2, 1865 at Fort Sedgwick, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company E, 207th Pennsylvania Infantry. Ilgenfritz was 28 years old.

65 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 20, 1917, 51 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of First Sergeant.

Ilgenfritz was born on March 4, 1837 in York County, Pennsylvania. His Medal of Honor is credited to Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Ilgenfritz died on March 31, 1920 in York, Pennsylvania, at the age of 83. He is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in York, Pennsylvania.

Ilgenfritz is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

The color bearer falling, pierced by seven balls, he immediately sprang forward and grasped the colors, planting them upon the enemy's forts amid a murderous fire of grape, canister, and musketry from the enemy.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: York County — map
  • Buried: York County — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →

Timeline

  1. March 4, 1837
    Born in York County, Pennsylvania
  2. April 2, 1865
    Act of valor — Fort Sedgwick, Virginia
    Age 28. Company E, 207th Pennsylvania Infantry
  3. March 20, 1917
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. March 31, 1920
    Died in York, Pennsylvania
    Age 83.
  5. Resting place
    Prospect Hill Cemetery
    York, Pennsylvania

Biography

Charles Henry Ilgenfritz (March 4, 1837 – March 31, 1920) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Ilgenfritz was born in York County, Pennsylvania, on March 4, 1837. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary heroism on April 2, 1865, while serving as a Sergeant with Company E, 207th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, at Fort Sedgwick, Virginia. His Medal of Honor was issued on March 20, 1917. He died at the age of 83, on March 31, 1920, and was buried at the Prospect Hill Cemetery in York County, Pennsylvania.

From the Wikipedia article “Charles H. Ilgenfritz”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

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 Pennsylvania

St. Clair Agustin Mulholland Major · Army Civil War · 1863 EM Edward S. Martin Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 TC Thomas H. Cripps Quartermaster · Navy Civil War · 1864 WS William Sands First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 Sylvester Hopkins Martin Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 GR George Washington Roosevelt First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata and Wikipedia. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.