First Sergeant Walter Jamieson, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on September 29, 1864 at Petersburg & Fort Harrison, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company B, 139th New York Infantry. Jamieson was about 22 years old.
37 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on April 5, 1898, 33 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of Captain.
Jamieson was born in 1842 in Boulogne, France — one of 18 recipients born in France. His Medal of Honor is credited to New York, New York. Jamieson died on December 6, 1904 in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of about 62. He is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
Jamieson is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 678 credited to New York.
Official Medal of Honor citation
Voluntarily went between the lines under a heavy fire at Petersburg, Va., to the assistance of a wounded and helpless officer, whom he carried within the Union lines. At Fort Harrison, Va., seized the regimental color, the color bearer and guard having been shot down, and, rushing forward, planted it upon the fort in full view of the entire brigade.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: American Civil War.
Life beyond the battlefield
- Occupations: boxer
Source: Wikidata.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New York →
Timeline
- 1842Born in Boulogne, France
- September 29, 1864Act of valor — Petersburg & Fort Harrison, VirginiaAge about 22. Company B, 139th New York Infantry
- April 5, 1898Medal of Honor presented
- December 6, 1904Died in Brooklyn, New YorkAge about 62.
- Resting placeCypress Hills CemeteryBrooklyn, New York
Biography
Sam Collyer (born Walter Jamieson; May 14, 1842 – December 7, 1904) was a bare-knuckle boxer, and the American Lightweight Champion. He was the son of James Jamieson and Jane Taylor of Angus, Scotland. He weighed between 115 and 125 pounds, and stood 5 feet 5 ½ inches. Born in France, he came to the United States as a boy. He received the United States Medal of Honor in 1898, for his actions in 1864 in the American Civil War.
From the Wikipedia article “Sam Collyer”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
