Corporal Louis Renninger, 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 H, 37th Ohio Infantry. Renninger was 21 years old.
99 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on August 15, 1894, 31 years after the action.
Renninger was born on August 25, 1841 in Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio. Renninger died on November 17, 1908 in Eugene, Oregon, at the age of 67. He is buried at Eugene Pioneer Cemetery in Eugene, Oregon.
Renninger is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 256 credited to Ohio.
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
Timeline
- August 25, 1841Born in Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio
- May 22, 1863Act of valor — Vicksburg, MississippiAge 21. Company H, 37th Ohio Infantry
- August 15, 1894Medal of Honor presented
- November 17, 1908Died in Eugene, OregonAge 67.
- Resting placeEugene Pioneer CemeteryEugene, Oregon
Biography
Louis Renninger (August 25, 1841 - November 17, 1908) was a Union soldier who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry in the American Civil War. On May 22, 1863, Renninger was one of 150 Union soldiers who volunteered to lead an assault on the Confederate heights at the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The plan was for the volunteer storming party to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called a "forlorn hope" in nineteenth century vernacular.
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