Medal of Honor
April 9, 1865
Fort Blakely, Alabama, USA
- Rank at action
- Captain
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Conflict
- Civil War
- Unit or command
- Company H, 119th Illinois Infantry
The Citation
Sources ↓While leading his company in an assault, Capt. McConnell braved an intense fire that mowed down his unit. Upon reaching the breastworks he found that he had only one member of his company with him, Pvt. Wagner. He was so close to an enemy gun that the blast knocked him down a ditch. Getting up, he entered the gun pit, the guncrew fleeing before him. About 30 paces away he saw a Confederate flag bearer and guard which he captured with the last shot in his pistol.
Separately preserved current-source wording
Captured from the linked current recipient source; it is not a new comparison with an original General Order.
While leading his company in an assault, Capt. McConnell braved an intense fire that mowed down his unit. Upon reaching the breastworks, he found that he had only one member of his company with him, Pvt. Wagner. He was so close to an enemy gun that the blast knocked him down a ditch. Getting up, he entered the gun pit, the gun crew fleeing before him. About 30 paces away he saw a Confederate flag bearer and guard which he captured with the last shot in his pistol.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Samuel McConnell — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-28
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-000947
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-08-28
- Entered service at
- Bushnell, McDonough County, Ill.
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- e05d48969eccba3e296316b2b0da1effb9429b182fbb0f055146d6b005a5b249
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; current rendered profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
The reference profile corrects surname capitalization, supplies the historical Fort Blakely action place, inserts a comma after “breastworks,” and renders “gun crew” as two words. The inherited complete citation and geocoder place remain preserved.