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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Second Lieutenant · U.S. Army

John Gregory bishop Adams

Second Lieutenant John Gregory bishop Adams, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on December 13, 1862 in Fredericksburg, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War December 13, 1862

Second Lieutenant John Gregory bishop Adams, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on December 13, 1862 in Fredericksburg, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry. Adams was 21 years old.

17 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on December 16, 1896, 34 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Captain.

Adams was born on October 6, 1841 in Groveland, Essex County, Massachusetts. His Medal of Honor is credited to West Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. Adams died on October 19, 1900 in Lynn, Massachusetts, at the age of 59. He is buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Adams is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 265 credited to Massachusetts.

★ Gave Their Lives

Official Medal of Honor citation

Seized the two colors from the hands of a corporal and a lieutenant as they fell mortally wounded, and with a color in each hand advanced across the field to a point where the regiment was reformed on those colors.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Life beyond the battlefield

Source: Wikidata.

Places

  • Born: Groveland — map
  • Died: Boston — map
  • Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Massachusetts →

Timeline

  1. October 6, 1841
    Born in Groveland, Essex County, Massachusetts
  2. December 13, 1862
    Act of valor — Fredericksburg, Virginia
    Age 21. Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry
  3. December 16, 1896
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. October 19, 1900
    Died in Lynn, Massachusetts
    Age 59.
  5. Resting place
    Pine Grove Cemetery
    Lynn, Massachusetts

Biography

John Gregory Bishop Adams (October 6, 1841 – October 19, 1900) was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War. Adams was born October 6, 1841, in Groveland, Massachusetts, to Isaac and Margaret Adams. He married Mary E. on April 5, 1866, in Boston. They had two children, but they both died in infancy. When Adams returned home after the war, he worked a series of jobs, including working for a shoe company, as a customs inspector, postmaster, and deputy warden. He served as a Massachusetts elector in the 1868 presidential election. In 1899, Adams published a war service memoir, Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment.

From the Wikipedia article “John G. B. Adams”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

Also honored for actions on December 13, 1862

WB Wallace A. Beckwith Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Zenas Randall Bliss Colonel · Army Civil War · 1862 JC Jacob Cart Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Charles Henry tucky Collis Colonel · Army Civil War · 1862 CC Charles Dearborn Copp Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 TD Timothy Donoghue Private · Army Civil War · 1862 Francis Henry Goodall First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 William P. Hogarty Private · Army Civil War · 1862 John Johnson Private · Army Civil War · 1862 JK Joseph Keene Private · Army Civil War · 1862 George Henry Maynard Private · Army Civil War · 1862 JP John Gideon Palmer Corporal · Army Civil War · 1862

See all 18 recipients for December 13, 1862 →

Same unit

JD Joseph H. Decastro Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 JR John H. Robinson Private · Army Civil War · 1863

More Civil War recipients from Massachusetts

PH Peter Howard Boatswain's Mate · Navy Civil War · 1863 PB Philip Bazaar Ordinary Seaman · Navy Civil War · 1865 FA Frederick Charles Anderson Private · Army Civil War · 1864 GH George White Hooker First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 Russell C. Elliott Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 JH James Holehouse Private · Army Civil War · 1863
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.