Medal of Honor
May 19, 1863
Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA
- Rank at action
- Musician
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Conflict
- U.S. Civil War
- Unit or command
- Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry
The Citation
Sources ↓A drummer boy, 14 years of age, and severely wounded and exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to Gen. W. T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under command of Colonel Malmborg.
Separately preserved current-source wording
Captured from the linked current recipient source; it is not a new comparison with an original General Order.
A drummer boy, 14 years of age, and severely wounded and exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to Gen. W.T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under command of Col. Malmborg.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Orion P Howe — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-27
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-000855
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-08-27
- Later or highest recorded rank
- Corporal
- Entered service at
- Waukegan, IL
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 15ebdc8fd9a75cb668eeb9568932a25db49b3bdae222df3ba489f342cca3369b
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; current rendered profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
The current profile confirms that Howe was a 14-year-old musician at the time of action; later Corporal wording is retained separately.