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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

First Sergeant · U.S. Army

Conrad Schmidt

First Sergeant Conrad Schmidt, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on September 19, 1864 in Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War September 19, 1864Born in Germany

First Sergeant Conrad Schmidt, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on September 19, 1864 in Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company K, 2d U.S. Cavalry. Schmidt was 34 years old.

14 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 16, 1896, 31 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant.

Schmidt was born on February 27, 1830 in Wurttemberg, Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth County, Kansas. Schmidt died on December 26, 1908 in Junction City, Kansas, at the age of 78. He is buried at Catholic Cemetery in Ogden, Kansas.

Schmidt is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 31 credited to Kansas.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Went to the assistance of his regimental commander, whose horse had been killed under him in a charge, mounted the officer behind him, under a heavy fire from the enemy, and returned him to his command.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Württemberg — map
  • Died: Kansas — map
  • Buried: Saint Patricks Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Kansas →

Timeline

  1. February 27, 1830
    Born in Wurttemberg, Germany
  2. September 19, 1864
    Act of valor — Winchester, Virginia
    Age 34. Company K, 2d U.S. Cavalry
  3. March 16, 1896
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. December 26, 1908
    Died in Junction City, Kansas
    Age 78.
  5. Resting place
    Catholic Cemetery
    Ogden, Kansas

Biography

Conrad Schmidt (February 27, 1830 – December 26, 1908) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Opequon, more commonly called the Third Battle of Winchester in Virginia on September 19, 1864. Schmidt joined the army from Fort Leavenworth in February 1861, and was discharged in December 1866.

From the Wikipedia article “Conrad Schmidt (Medal of Honor)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on September 19, 1864

CB Chester Bennett Bowen Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 GC Gabriel Cole Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 HD Henry W. Downs Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 HF Henry M. Fox Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Andrew Jackson Lorish Commissary Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Alphonso M. Lunt Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Joel Huntington Lyman Quartermaster Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 PM Patrick H. McEnroe Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 GM George E. Meach Farrier · Army Civil War · 1864 GR George Reynolds Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Peter J. Ryan Private · Army Civil War · 1864 James Martinus Schoonmaker Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864

See all 15 recipients for September 19, 1864 →

More Civil War recipients from Kansas

Lorenzo Dow Immell Corporal · Army Civil War · 1861
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.