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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant · U.S. Army

James Samuel Hill

Sergeant James Samuel Hill, Army, received the Medal of Honor posthumously for actions on July 30, 1864 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War July 30, 1864Posthumous

Sergeant James Samuel Hill, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for gallantry on July 30, 1864 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company C, 14th New York Heavy Artillery. Hill was about 19 years old.

21 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on December 1, 1864.

Hill was born in 1845 in Lyons, Wayne County, New York. Hill died on April 10, 1865, at the age of about 20. He is buried at East Newark Cemetery in Newark, New York. His medal is held by National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, DC.

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

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

Capture of flag, shooting a Confederate officer who was rallying his men with the colors in his hand.

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

Timeline

  1. 1845
    Born in Lyons, Wayne County, New York
  2. July 30, 1864
    Act of valor — Petersburg, Virginia
    Age about 19. Company C, 14th New York Heavy Artillery
  3. December 1, 1864
    Medal of Honor presented posthumously
  4. April 10, 1865
    Died
    Age about 20.
  5. Resting place
    East Newark Cemetery
    Newark, New York

Further reading

Also honored for actions on July 30, 1864

Delavan Bates Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864 Isaac Swartwood Catlin Colonel · Army Civil War · 1864 AC Abraham Cohn Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1864 AD Andrew Davidson First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 CD Charles H. Depuy First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 RD Robert Fulton Dodd Private · Army Civil War · 1864 DD Decatur Dorsey Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Nathaniel Mcclean Gwynne Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Sidney Haight Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 FH Franklin Hogan Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 CH Conrad Homan Color Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Charles H. Knight Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864

See all 22 recipients for July 30, 1864 →

More Civil War recipients from New York

CB Christopher C. Bruton Captain · Army Civil War · 1865 WW William Westerhold Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 RC Richard J. Curran Assistant Surgeon · Army Civil War · 1862 AB Albert Burton Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 FM Frank W. Mills Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 William Donaldson Dickey Captain · Army Civil War · 1864
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.