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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Sergeant Major · U.S. Army

William B. Hincks

Sergeant Major William B. Hincks, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War July 3, 1863

Sergeant Major William B. Hincks, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with 14th Connecticut Infantry. Hincks was about 22 years old.

30 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on December 6, 1864 — by Major General George G. Meade, at a review of the 2nd Army Corps Headquarters, Peebles' House, near Petersburg, Va. He later rose to the rank of Major.

Hincks was born in 1841 in Bucksport, Hancock County, Maine. His Medal of Honor is credited to Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Hincks died on November 7, 1903 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at the age of about 62. He is buried at Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Hincks is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 57 credited to Connecticut.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

During the highwater mark of Pickett's charge on 3 July 1863 the colors of the 14th Tennessee Infantry C.S.A. were planted 50 yards in front of the center of Sgt. Maj. Hincks' regiment. There were no Confederates standing near it but several were lying down around it. Upon a call for volunteers by Maj. Ellis, commanding, to capture this flag, this soldier and two others leaped the wall. One companion was instantly shot. Sgt. Maj. Hincks outran his remaining companion, running straight and swift for the colors amid a storm of shot. Swinging his saber over the prostrate Confederates and uttering a terrific yell, he seized the flag and hastily returned to his lines. The 14th Tenn. carried 12 battle honors on its flag. The devotion to duty shown by Sgt. Maj. Hincks gave encouragement to many of his comrades at a crucial moment of the battle.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Bucksport — map
  • Buried: Connecticut — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Connecticut →

Timeline

  1. 1841
    Born in Bucksport, Hancock County, Maine
  2. July 3, 1863
    Act of valor — Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
    Age about 22. 14th Connecticut Infantry
  3. December 6, 1864
    Medal of Honor presented
    By Major General George G. Meade, at a review of the 2nd Army Corps Headquarters, Peebles' House, near Petersburg, Va.
  4. November 7, 1903
    Died in Bridgeport, Connecticut
    Age about 62.
  5. Resting place
    Mountain Grove Cemetery
    Bridgeport, Connecticut

Biography

William Bliss Hincks (1841–1903) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

From the Wikipedia article “William B. Hincks”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →

Also honored for actions on July 3, 1863

EB Elijah William Bacon Private · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ George Greenville Benedict Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 MB Morris Brown Jr. Captain · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ HC Hugh Carey Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ JC John E. Clopp Private · Army Civil War · 1863 Alonzo H. Cushing First Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ JD Joseph H. Decastro Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 GD George H. Dore Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 Benjamin Frank Falls Color Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 ✦ CF Christopher Flynn Corporal · Army Civil War · 1863 Frederick W. Fuger Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863 Benjamin H. Jellison Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1863

See all 31 recipients for July 3, 1863 →

More Civil War recipients from Connecticut

AT Allen Tucker Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 TH Thomas Harding Captain of the Forecastle · Navy Civil War · 1864 EB Elijah A. Briggs Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 Frederick Randolph Jackson First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 DB Daniel Webster Burke First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1862 RW Robert Wright 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.