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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

First Lieutenant · U.S. Army

John H. Fisher

First Lieutenant John H. Fisher, 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

Serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army, First Lieutenant John H. Fisher received the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 22, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company B, 55th Illinois Infantry. Fisher was about 26 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.

Fisher was born in 1837 in Monmouth, Pennsylvania. His Medal of Honor is credited to Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Fisher died on September 16, 1895 in Spencer, Iowa, at the age of about 58. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont, Colorado. His medal is held by Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Mount Pleasant, SC.

Fisher 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: Monmouth — map
  • Buried: Mountain View Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Illinois →

Timeline

  1. 1837
    Born in Monmouth, Pennsylvania
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age about 26. Company B, 55th Illinois Infantry
  3. September 2, 1893
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. September 16, 1895
    Died in Spencer, Iowa
    Age about 58.
  5. Resting place
    Mountain View Cemetery
    Longmont, Colorado

Biography

John Harvey Fisher (c. 1837 – September 16, 1895) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. Fisher joined the 55th Illinois Infantry as a private in September 1861, and was discharged in May 1865.

From the Wikipedia article “John Harvey Fisher”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Further reading

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

DN Daniel Noble Landsman · Navy Civil War · 1864 EW Elwood N. Williams Private · Army Civil War · 1862 EP Edward M. Pike First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 WB William Wallace Burritt Private · Army Civil War · 1863 JV James David Vernay Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 WM Wilbur F. Moore 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.