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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Corporal · U.S. Army

John W. Wagner

Corporal John W. Wagner, 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 John W. Wagner was a soldier in the U.S. Army who 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 F, 8th Missouri Infantry. Wagner 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 December 14, 1894, 31 years after the action.

Wagner was born in 1837 in Clear Spring, Washington County, Maryland. His Medal of Honor is credited to St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri. Wagner died on August 24, 1896 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of about 59. He is buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Wagner is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 78 credited to Missouri.

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: Clear Spring — map
  • Died: Boston — map
  • Buried: Forest Hills Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Missouri →

Timeline

  1. 1837
    Born in Clear Spring, Washington County, Maryland
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age about 26. Company F, 8th Missouri Infantry
  3. December 14, 1894
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. August 24, 1896
    Died in Boston, Massachusetts
    Age about 59.
  5. Resting place
    Forest Hills Cemetery
    Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

Biography

John W. Wagner (c. 1837 – August 24, 1896) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Wagner was born in Clear Spring, Maryland, and he entered service in St. Louis, Missouri. Wagner was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863, for his gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party as a corporal with Company F of the 8th Missouri Infantry. His Medal of Honor was issued on December 14, 1894, and Wagner died in 1896 and was buried in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

From the Wikipedia article “John W. Wagner”, 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 Missouri

William Wallace McCammon First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 Nathaniel Mcclean Gwynne Private · Army Civil War · 1864 CB Charles Bieger Private · Army Civil War · 1864 HH Henry A. Hammel Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 William Macky Wherry First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1861 Joseph Leonard Follett Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862
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.