Veteran in crisis? Dial 988 then press 1 · Text 838255 Next observance: Navy Birthday · October 13
Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Captain · U.S. Army

Hubert Dilger

Captain Hubert Dilger, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on May 2, 1863 in Chancellorsville, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War May 2, 1863Born in Germany

Captain Hubert Dilger was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 2, 1863 in Chancellorsville, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Dilger was 27 years old.

11 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on August 17, 1893, 30 years after the action.

Dilger was born on March 5, 1836 in Germany — one of 130 recipients born in Germany. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Dilger died on May 14, 1911 in near Front Royal, Virginia, at the age of 75. He is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, District of Columbia.

Dilger is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Fought his guns until the enemy were upon him, then with one gun hauled in the road by hand he formed the rear guard and kept the enemy at bay by the rapidity of his fire and was the last man in the retreat.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Germany — map
  • Died: Front Royal — map
  • Buried: Rock Creek Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →

Timeline

  1. March 5, 1836
    Born in Germany
  2. May 2, 1863
    Act of valor — Chancellorsville, Virginia
    Age 27. Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery
  3. August 17, 1893
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. May 14, 1911
    Died in near Front Royal, Virginia
    Age 75.
  5. Resting place
    Rock Creek Cemetery
    Washington, District of Columbia

Biography

Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911). German American who became a decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac and received the Medal of Honor for bravery at the Battle of Chancellorsville (1863). He earned the nickname "Leatherbreeches" for the non-regulation trousers he often wore.

From the Wikipedia article “Hubert Dilger”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on May 2, 1863

RB Robert M. Boody Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 FB Felix Brannigan Private · Army Civil War · 1863 William Wallace Cranston Private · Army Civil War · 1863 JG Joseph Gion Private · Army Civil War · 1863 HH Henry Heller Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 EJ Eugene Philip Jacobson Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1863 Nelson Appleton Miles Colonel · Army Civil War · 1863 ES Elisha B. Seaman Private · Army Civil War · 1863 TT Thomas W. Thompson Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 CT Clifford Thomson First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 WT William Gardner Tracy Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from New York

Wilson Smith Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862 JK Joseph Keene Private · Army Civil War · 1862 WP William Pelham Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 HB Henry H. Bickford Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 Andrew Kuder Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 JH John Harris Captain of the Forecastle · Navy 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.