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

Private · U.S. Army

James Calvin Summers

Private James Calvin Summers, 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 James Calvin Summers, 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 H, 4th West Virginia Infantry. Summers was 25 years old.

99 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on February 25, 1895, 31 years after the action.

Summers was born on February 14, 1838 in on Elk River six miles above Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia. His Medal of Honor is credited to Point Pleasant, Mason County, West Virginia. Summers died on May 9, 1927 in Frame, West Virginia, at the age of 89. He is buried at Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery in Dunbar, West Virginia.

Summers is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 45 credited to West Virginia.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Gallantry in charge of the "volunteer storming party."

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

Places

  • Buried: Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in West Virginia →

Timeline

  1. February 14, 1838
    Born in on Elk River six miles above Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age 25. Company H, 4th West Virginia Infantry
  3. February 25, 1895
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. May 9, 1927
    Died in Frame, West Virginia
    Age 89.
  5. Resting place
    Donel C. Kinnard Memorial State Veterans Cemetery
    Dunbar, West Virginia

Biography

James Calvin Summers (14 February 1838 – 9 May 1927) was a private in the United States Army who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor for gallantry during the American Civil War. Summers was awarded the medal on 25 February 1895 for actions performed at the Siege of Vicksburg in Mississippi on 22 May 1863.

From the Wikipedia article “James C. Summers”, 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 West Virginia

LS Levi Shoemaker Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 SM Samuel O. McElhinny Private · Army Civil War · 1865 Charles A. Reeder Private · Army Civil War · 1865 JA James F. Adams Private · Army Civil War · 1864 DW Daniel A. Woods Private · Army Civil War · 1865 JS John Shanes Private · 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.