Veteran in crisis? Dial 988 then press 1 · Text 838255 Next observance: Navy Birthday · October 13
Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Robert Alexander Reid

Private Robert Alexander Reid, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on June 17, 1864 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War June 17, 1864Born in Scotland

Private Robert Alexander Reid, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on June 17, 1864 in Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company G, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. Reid was 22 years old.

12 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on December 1, 1864. He later rose to the rank of Ordnance Sergeant.

Reid was born on January 22, 1842 in Raploch, Scotland — one of 41 recipients born in Scotland. His Medal of Honor is credited to Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Reid died on April 25, 1929 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, at the age of 87. He is buried at I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Reid is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 380 credited to Pennsylvania.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

Capture of flag of 44th Tennessee Infantry (C.S.A.).

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Raploch — map
  • Buried: Pottsville — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Pennsylvania →

Timeline

  1. January 22, 1842
    Born in Raploch, Scotland
  2. June 17, 1864
    Act of valor — Petersburg, Virginia
    Age 22. Company G, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry
  3. December 1, 1864
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. April 25, 1929
    Died in Pottsville, Pennsylvania
    Age 87.
  5. Resting place
    I.O.O.F. Cemetery
    Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Biography

Robert Alexander Reid (January 22, 1842 – April 25, 1929) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Second Battle of Petersburg. Born on January 22, 1842, in the Raploch district of Stirling, Scotland, Reid joined the Army from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. He served during the Civil War as a private in Company G of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. At the Second Battle of Petersburg on June 17, 1864, Reid's division, under Brigadier General Robert Brown Potter, launched a stealthy pre-dawn attack on a Confederate-held farmhouse known as the Shand House.

From the Wikipedia article “Robert Reid (soldier)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on June 17, 1864

JB John Brosnan Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 HC Henry Flint Chandler Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 William Donaldson Dickey Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 JH John H. Harbourne Private · Army Civil War · 1864 HM Henry Coddington Meyer Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 PM Patrick H. Monaghan Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864 Francis Morrison Private · Army Civil War · 1864 George H. Plowman Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1864 HR Henry Walker Rowe Private · Army Civil War · 1864 BS Bernard A. Strausburgh First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 ✦ JW John H. Wageman Private · Army Civil War · 1864 BY Benjamin F. Young Corporal · Army Civil War · 1864

More Civil War recipients from Pennsylvania

Solomon J. Hottenstine Private · Army Civil War · 1864 CH Charles Higby Private · Army Civil War · 1865 Matthew Stanley Quay Colonel · Army Civil War · 1862 JW Joseph White Coxswain · Navy Civil War · 1864 WF West Funk Major · Army Civil War · 1865 GR George W. Reed 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.