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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant · U.S. Army

Henry A. Hammel

Sergeant Henry A. Hammel, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions between April 28 and 29, 1863 in Grand Gulf, Mississippi during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War April 28 - 29, 1863Born in Germany

Sergeant Henry A. Hammel, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry between April 28 and 29, 1863 in Grand Gulf, Mississippi during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Battery A, 1st Missouri Light Artillery. Hammel was 22 years old.

2 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 10, 1896, 32 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of First Sergeant.

Hammel was born on September 20, 1840 in Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri. Hammel died on November 29, 1902, at the age of 62. He is buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hammel is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 78 credited to Missouri.

Official Medal of Honor citation

With two comrades, voluntarily took position on board the steamer Cheeseman, in charge of all the guns and ammunition of the battery, and remained in charge of the same for considerable time while the steamer was unmanageable and subjected to a heavy fire from the enemy.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Germany — map
  • Died: Missouri — map
  • Buried: Bellefontaine Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Missouri →

Timeline

  1. September 20, 1840
    Born in Germany
  2. April 28 - 29, 1863
    Act of valor — Grand Gulf, Mississippi
    Age 22. Battery A, 1st Missouri Light Artillery
  3. March 10, 1896
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. November 29, 1902
    Died
    Age 62.
  5. Resting place
    Bellefontaine Cemetery
    St. Louis, Missouri

Biography

Henry A. Hammel (September 20, 1840 – November 29, 1902) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Hammel was born in Germany on September 20, 1840, and entered service at St. Louis, Missouri. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism, while a sergeant in Battery A, 1st Missouri Light Artillery, on April 28 and 29, 1863, on board the steamer Cheeseman at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. His Medal of Honor was issued on March 10, 1896. He died at the age of 62, on November 29, 1902, and was buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

From the Wikipedia article “Henry A. Hammel”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on April 28 - 29, 1863

Fitz W. Guerin Private · Army Civil War · 1863 JP Joseph M. Pesch Private · Army Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from Missouri

James Edward Flynn Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 JW Joseph Wortick Private · Army Civil War · 1863 Nathaniel Mcclean Gwynne Private · Army Civil War · 1864 M. R. William Grebe Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 Joseph Leonard Follett Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 AP Ambrose Porter Commissary Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864
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.