Civil War
William R. Shafter
First Lieutenant · U.S. Army
Company I, 7th Michigan Infantry
31 May 1862 · Fair Oaks, Virginia
Public domain. Wikimedia Commons Source file
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Era
- Civil War
- Home state
- Michigan
- Action
- Fair Oaks, Virginia
The citation
Official citation
Lt. Shafter was engaged in bridge construction and not being needed there returned with his men to engage the enemy participating in a charge across an open field that resulted in casualties to 18 of the 22 men. At the close of the battle his horse was shot from under him and he was severely flesh wounded. He remained on the field that day and stayed to fight the next day only by concealing his wounds. In order not to be sent home with the wounded he kept his wounds concealed for another 3 days until other wounded had left the area.
Sources
- U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
- Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.
