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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

First Lieutenant · U.S. Army

George White Hooker

First Lieutenant George White Hooker, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on September 14, 1862 at South Mountain, Maryland during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War September 14, 1862

First Lieutenant George White Hooker, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on September 14, 1862 at South Mountain, Maryland during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company E, 4th Vermont Infantry. Hooker was 24 years old.

4 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on September 17, 1891, 29 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Vols..

Hooker was born on February 6, 1838 in Salem, Washington County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Hooker died on August 6, 1902 in Brattleboro, Vermont, at the age of 64. He is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro, Vermont. His medal is held by Antietam National Battlefield Museum, Sharpsburg, MD.

Hooker is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Rode alone, in advance of his regiment, into the enemy's lines, and before his own men came up, received the surrender of the major of a Confederate regiment, together with the colors and 116 men.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: Battle of Crampton's Gap.

Life beyond the battlefield

  • Offices held: member of the Vermont House of Representatives
  • Occupations: businessperson, politician

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: Salem — map
  • Buried: Prospect Hill Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. February 6, 1838
    Born in Salem, Washington County, New York
  2. September 14, 1862
    Act of valor — South Mountain, Maryland
    Age 24. Company E, 4th Vermont Infantry
  3. September 17, 1891
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. August 6, 1902
    Died in Brattleboro, Vermont
    Age 64.
  5. Resting place
    Prospect Hill Cemetery
    Brattleboro, Vermont

Biography

George W. Hooker (February 6, 1838 – August 6, 1902) was an American Civil War veteran who received the Medal of Honor. In 1862 Hooker captured 116 Confederate soldiers along with their colonel and company colors by himself. For this action he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Hooker was elected in 1879 and 1880 as department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in Vermont. He was also elected as Brattleboro's representative in the Vermont General Assembly, to which he was re-elected in 1882.

From the Wikipedia article “George W. Hooker”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on September 14, 1862

James Allen Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Orlando Emanuel Caruana Private · Army Civil War · 1862 John Porter Hatch Brigadier General · Army Civil War · 1862 Leonidas H. Inscho Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

HT Henry Thielberg Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863 WP William Parker Captain of the Afterguard · Navy Civil War · 1862 MH Marcus M. Haskell Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 JS John Swanson Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 HY Horatio Nelson Young Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1863 JG John Griffiths Captain of the Forecastle · Navy Civil War · 1865
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.