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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Jacob Sanford

Private Jacob Sanford, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on May 22, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War May 22, 1863

Private Jacob Sanford, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on May 22, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company F, 55th Illinois Infantry. Sanford was about 23 years old.

99 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on September 2, 1893, 30 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Commissary Sergeant.

Sanford was born in 1840 in Fulton County, Illinois. His Medal of Honor is credited to Prairie City, McDonough County, Illinois. Sanford died on September 3, 1901 in Prairie City, Illinois, at the age of about 61. He is buried at Prairie City Cemetery in Prairie City, Illinois.

Sanford is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 210 credited to Illinois.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."

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

Places

  • Buried: Prairie City Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Illinois →

Timeline

  1. 1840
    Born in Fulton County, Illinois
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age about 23. Company F, 55th Illinois Infantry
  3. September 2, 1893
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. September 3, 1901
    Died in Prairie City, Illinois
    Age about 61.
  5. Resting place
    Prairie City Cemetery
    Prairie City, Illinois

Biography

Jacob Sanford (c. 1840 – September 3, 1901) was an American soldier who fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for valor.

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

Also honored for actions on May 22, 1863

CA Christian Albert Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WA William J. Archinal Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 CA Clinton Lycurgus Armstrong Private · Army Civil War · 1863 DA David Ayers Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 JA John G. k Ayers Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WB William H. Barringer Private · Army Civil War · 1863 MB Matthew Bickford Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 TB Thomas A. Blasdel Private · Army Civil War · 1863 EB Emmer Bowen Private · Army Civil War · 1863 UB Uriah H. Brown Private · Army Civil War · 1863 WB William P. Brownell Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1863 JB John C. Buckley Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863

See all 100 recipients for May 22, 1863 →

More Civil War recipients from Illinois

Nineveh S. McKeen First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 John Shapland Private · Army Civil War · 1863 Leverett Mansfield Kelley Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 Patrick Henry Pentzer Captain · Army Civil War · 1865 GH George L. Houghton Private · Army Civil War · 1863 Edward Burson Spalding Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862
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.