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First Sergeant · U.S. Army

William Wesley Kendall

First Sergeant William Wesley Kendall, Army, received the Medal of Honor for actions on May 17, 1863 at Black River Bridge, Mississippi during the Civil War.

U.S. Civil War May 17, 1863

First Sergeant William Wesley Kendall, a soldier in the U.S. Army, received the Medal of Honor for gallantry on May 17, 1863 at Black River Bridge, Mississippi during the Civil War. At the time he was serving with Company A, 49th Indiana Infantry. Kendall was 23 years old.

The medal was presented on February 12, 1894, 30 years after the action. He later rose to the rank of First Lieutenant.

Kendall was born on August 31, 1839 in Hall Township, Dubois County, Indiana. His Medal of Honor is credited to Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana. Kendall died on August 14, 1920 in West Baden, Indiana, at the age of 80. He is buried at Ames Chapel Cemetery in Abydel, Indiana.

Kendall is one of 1,525 Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and one of 75 credited to Indiana.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Voluntarily led the company in a charge and was the first to enter the enemy's works, taking a number of prisoners.

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

Places

  • Buried: Ames Chapel Cemetery — map

Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Indiana →

Timeline

  1. August 31, 1839
    Born in Hall Township, Dubois County, Indiana
  2. May 17, 1863
    Act of valor — Black River Bridge, Mississippi
    Age 23. Company A, 49th Indiana Infantry
  3. February 12, 1894
    Medal of Honor presented
  4. August 14, 1920
    Died in West Baden, Indiana
    Age 80.
  5. Resting place
    Ames Chapel Cemetery
    Abydel, Indiana

More Civil War recipients from Indiana

Thomas J. Box Captain · Army Civil War · 1864 JK Jeremiah Kuder Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1864 CB Charles W. Brouse Captain · Army Civil War · 1863 Orville Tyron Chamberlain Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1863 RJ Ruel M. Johnson Major · Army Civil War · 1863 Frederick W. Fout Second Lieutenant · Army Civil War · 1862
Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Wikidata. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.