TRACKPADS Armored in facts. Driven by stories.

The Trackpads collection

FIND YOUR NEXT DISCOVERY.

Search the people, battles, citations, stories, books and audio behind military history.

Type at least two letters or numbers.Full search & filters

Medal of Honor Recipient

William Taylor

U.S. Army · Civil War

MOH-RC-001139Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: original Army design. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Army Medal of HonorAction-era reference: 1862

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

About this image

Presentation date is not usable for design selection. This is an action-era reference; a later presentation or replacement medal may differ.

Medal imagery and historical designs →

Medal of Honor

May 23, 1862–August 19, 1864

Front Royal & Weldon Railroad, Virginia, USA

Rank at action
Sergeant & Second Lieutenant
Service
U.S. Army
Conflict
Civil War
Unit or command
Company H & Company M, 1st Maryland Infantry

The Citation

Sources ↓
When a sergeant, at Front Royal, Va., he was painfully wounded while obeying an order to burn a bridge, but, persevering in the attempt, he burned the bridge and prevented its use by the enemy. Later, at Weldon Railroad, Va., then a lieutenant, he voluntarily took the place of a disabled officer and undertook a hazardous reconnaissance beyond the lines of the army; was taken prisoner in the attempt.
Separately preserved current-source wording

Captured from the linked current recipient source; it is not a new comparison with an original General Order.

When a sergeant at Front Royal, Va., he was painfully wounded while obeying an order to burn a bridge, but, persevering in the attempt, he burned the bridge and prevented its use by the enemy. Later, at Weldon Railroad, Va., then a lieutenant, he voluntarily took the place of a disabled officer and undertook a hazardous reconnaissance beyond the lines of the army; was taken prisoner in the attempt.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. William Taylor — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-28

    current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

  2. William Taylor — The United States Army Civil War Medal of Honor recipient roll ↗The United States Army Civil War Medal of Honor recipient roll · Checked 2026-08-28

    two documented action dates, action places, ranks, and company assignments for one William Taylor award

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-001145
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-28
Other source date wording
1864-08-19
Later or highest recorded rank
Captain
Archive transcription SHA-256
0f6d8c91c2a1001f41e3b75a79a054e05ccd0174a9a6bcf151c1dabe45f0187d

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; current rendered profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The current reference profile combines Front Royal and Weldon Railroad in one award but exposes only the later structured date. The official Army roll supplies both dates and the two rank/company components. One canonical award is retained with a controlled action range; the inherited later-date rendering, both official descriptions, citation text, provenance, and checksums remain parallel evidence.

Continue Across Trackpads

FOLLOW THE SUBJECT.