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Honoring American TroopsMedal of Honor Archive

Corporal · U.S. Army

William B. Hooper

Corporal William B. Hooper, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on March 31, 1865 at Chamberlains Creek, Virginia during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War March 31, 1865

Corporal William B. Hooper was a soldier in the U.S. Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on March 31, 1865 at Chamberlains Creek, Virginia during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company L, 1st New Jersey Cavalry. Hooper was about 24 years old.

5 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on July 3, 1865. He later rose to the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant.

Hooper was born in 1841 in Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut. His Medal of Honor is credited to Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Hooper died on January 16, 1870 in Caldera, Chile, at the age of about 29. He is buried at Old Willimatic Cemetery in Windham, Connecticut.

Hooper is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 93 credited to New Jersey.

★ Flags & Colors

Official Medal of Honor citation

With the assistance of a comrade, headed off the advance of the enemy, shooting two of his color bearers; also posted himself between the enemy and the lead horses of his own command, thus saving the herd from capture.

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

Battles and campaigns

Also served in: American Civil War.

Places

  • Born: Willimantic — map
  • Died: Caldera — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in New Jersey →

Timeline

  1. 1841
    Born in Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut
  2. March 31, 1865
    Act of valor — Chamberlains Creek, Virginia
    Age about 24. Company L, 1st New Jersey Cavalry
  3. July 3, 1865
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. January 16, 1870
    Died in Caldera, Chile
    Age about 29.
  5. Resting place
    Old Willimatic Cemetery
    Windham, Connecticut

Biography

William B. Hooper (1841 – January 16, 1870) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Hooper was born in Willimantic, Connecticut. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism shown on March 31, 1865, while serving as a corporal with Company L, 1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry, at Chamberlains Creek, Virginia. His Medal of Honor was issued on July 3, 1865. He died at the age of 29, on January 16, 1870, in Caldera, Chile. An "In Memory Of" government-issued headstone is in the family plot at the Old Willimantic Cemetery in Windham, Connecticut. His exact burial location is unknown.

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

Also honored for actions on March 31, 1865

PB Peter Martin Boehm Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1865 Horatio Collins King Major & Quartermaster · Army Civil War · 1865 FL Franklin W. Lutes Corporal · Army Civil War · 1865 William H. Sickles Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865 JW John Wilson Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1865

More Civil War recipients from New Jersey

Frank E. Fesq Private · Army Civil War · 1865 Amos Jay Cummings Sergeant Major · Army Civil War · 1863 Gabriel Grant Surgeon · Army Civil War · 1862 EE Edmund English First Sergeant · Army Civil War · 1864 JS John Shivers Private · Marine Corps Civil War · 1865 AT Andrew J. Tomlin Corporal · Marine Corps 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.