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Corporal · U.S. Army

James W. Larrabee

Corporal James W. Larrabee, 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

Corporal James W. Larrabee, 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 I, 55th Illinois Infantry. Larrabee was about 24 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 First Sergeant.

Larrabee was born in 1839 in Rensselaer County, New York. His Medal of Honor is credited to Mendota, La Salle County, Illinois. Larrabee died on December 30, 1907 in Lee County, Illinois, at the age of about 68. He is buried at Four Mile Grove Cemetery in Meriden, Illinois.

Larrabee 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.

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Rensselaer County — map
  • Buried: Meriden — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Illinois →

Timeline

  1. 1839
    Born in Rensselaer County, New York
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age about 24. Company I, 55th Illinois Infantry
  3. September 2, 1893
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. December 30, 1907
    Died in Lee County, Illinois
    Age about 68.
  5. Resting place
    Four Mile Grove Cemetery
    Meriden, Illinois

Biography

James W. Larrabee (1839 – December 30, 1907) was a soldier in the Union Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Siege of Vicksburg in the American Civil War. Larrabee joined the 55th Illinois Infantry in October 1861, and was mustered out in August 1865.

From the Wikipedia article “James W. Larrabee”, 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

Wells Howard Blodgett First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 John Shapland Private · Army Civil War · 1863 RM Robinson Barr Murphy Musician · Army Civil War · 1864 GR George F. Rebmann Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 Henry Fox Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 GS George Stokes 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.