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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Private · U.S. Army

Sampson Harris

Private Sampson Harris, 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

Private Sampson Harris, 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 K, 30th Ohio Infantry. Harris was about 22 years old.

99 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on July 10, 1894, 31 years after the action.

Harris was born in 1841 in Noble County, Ohio. His Medal of Honor is credited to Olive, Noble County, Ohio. Harris died on October 29, 1905, at the age of about 64. He is buried at Olive Cemetery in Caldwell, Ohio.

Harris 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

  • Born: Noble County — map
  • Died: Ohio — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Ohio →

Timeline

  1. 1841
    Born in Noble County, Ohio
  2. May 22, 1863
    Act of valor — Vicksburg, Mississippi
    Age about 22. Company K, 30th Ohio Infantry
  3. July 10, 1894
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. October 29, 1905
    Died
    Age about 64.
  5. Resting place
    Olive Cemetery
    Caldwell, Ohio

Biography

Sampson Harris (1841 – October 21, 1905) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863.

From the Wikipedia article “Sampson Harris (Medal of Honor)”, 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 Ohio

John Reed Porter Private · Army Civil War · 1862 JG Joseph Olds Gregg Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Robert A. Pinn First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 Abraham Greenawalt Private · Army Civil War · 1864 Henry Blanchard Freeman First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862 MB Milton Blickensderger Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865
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.