May 18, 2007

New headstone for only Medal of Honor winner buried in Wells County to be dedicated May 26

The new headstone (above) for Civil War Medal of Honor winner Sergeant William Bumgarner at Mossburg Cemetery will be dedicated May 26. The tombstone, provided by the U.S. government at no charge, replaces the weather-worn marker at Bumgarner’s gravesite which had only his name rank and military unit. Bumgarner died Dec. 24,1911 at his daughter’s home in Liberty Center after winning the Medal of Honor for bravery in 1863 at the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

By GARY BOOKS

One of our nation’s greatest military heroes from nearly 150 years ago will get additional recognition from area and Wells County organizations this coming Memorial Day weekend.

William Bumgarner, who as a Union sergeant in the Civil War earned the Medal of Honor — this country’s highest award for valor in action against an enemy force — will have a new headstone dedicated at the spot where he is buried at Mossburg Cemetery northwest of Liberty Center.

Believed to be the only Medal of Honor recipient interred in Wells County, Bumgarner’s acknowledgement will be conducted by Champion Hill, Camp 17 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) located in Huntington County.

The ceremonies will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday May 26 at the cemetery near 550W and 200S in Wells County and are expected to last about 40 minutes.

Information about Bumgarner and his burial location first came to local light this past February when Gib Young, a member of the Huntington County organization informed the Wells County Historical Society.

“The ‘Sons’ have come across a genuine hero and Medal of Honor winner from the Civil War buried in Wells County,” Young wrote. “Champion Hill, Camp 17 of Huntington is planning on holding a Memorial Day service at the Mossburg Cemetery and we would like to have the Wells County Historical Society take part in some manner.”

The dedication of the headstone, which is provided by the U.S. government free of charge, will occur after efforts, research and coordination involving, among others, Keith Stroud of Bluffton, Ike Huffman of Liberty Center and Don Morfe of Baltimore, Md., Young said.

A year ago, Stroud, also a member of the SUVCW, was carrying out some research about his home area of Liberty Center, found Bumgarner’s obituary and tracked down where he was buried.

Bumgarner (July 12, 1837-December 24, 1911) won his Medal of Honor during action at the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi on May 22, 1863, for “gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party.”

Entering the military at Mason City, West Virginia on June 5, 1861, Bumgarner was a member of Company A of the 4th West Virginia Infantry of the 15th Army Corps.

More than 1,500 Medals of Honor were awarded during the Civil War, some for less notable heroics than are generally associated with the country’s highest decoration as it is known today.

In the Civil War Era, the Medal of Honor was the only authorized military citation, so in some instances it was given out for what seems to be a whim.

For example, included at one time as Medal of Honor honorees were the 29 soldiers who served as guards at President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral.

Those medals, along with nearly 900 others, were rescinded early in the 20th century.

But there is no question that Bumgarner truly is deserving of the award for outstanding bravery under fire.

Commanding Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had ordered what turned out to be a failed charge against the Confederate positions at Vicksburg on May 19. A second attempt came three days later, the one in which Bumgarner made his admirable mark.

“He volunteered to be a member of a storming party (of eight or nine men, all from the 4th West Virginia) that was to lead a major attack against the Confederate earthworks at Vicksburg,” Young amplified.

Bumgarner was the sole volunteer from Company A.

“The all volunteer storming party was to carry, in addition to their own equipment, ladders and rails to throw across the ditch that fronted the earthwork where ‘The Graveyard Road’ entered Vicksburg’s defenses,” Young added.

According to his newspaper obituary, the board carried by Bumgarner during the assault was pierced by 15 bullets.

“The men in the party were called ‘the forlorn hope’ as few, if any, were expected to survive the rifle and cannon fire that would be directed at them by the enemy.

“Although the attack failed, the bravery of the men leading it was recognized with the Medal of Honor...Sgt. Bumgarner is one of only a few men from northeastern Indiana to earn the award.”

The Battle of Vicksburg, which was actually a siege, lasted from mid-May to early July, 1863 and resulted in the Union gaining control of the Mississippi River.

It was a bloody confrontation, with both sides sustaining nearly 20,000 casualties.

Additionally, Vicksburg is memorable for having the most Medals of Honor ever awarded for one day in the entire U.S. Military history, 96. In all, 120 MOHs came from that engagement.

A search of one Medal of Honor website lends some confusion about the battle site where Bumgarner was cited for valor.

That capsule regarding Bumgarner and the more than 3,400 others who have been given the Medal of Honor lists his award coming from an conflict at Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1862.

“There wasn’t a federal soldier within 60 miles of Petersburg on that date,” Young underscored, while noting he has verification from the Vicksburg battleground superintendent who says “park records indicate Bumgarner was there.”

Sometime after his military discharge at Wheeling, West Virginia on July 4, 1864, Bumgarner moved to Wells County where he spent the concluding 40 years of his life.

He came to Liberty Center to live with his daughter, Mrs. F.C. Lee, at whose home he died of a heart condition that had afflicted him the previous two years. Reports indicate the home where Bumgarner died still stands in the southern Wells County town.

Bumgarner’s obituary said he was born in Mason County, West Virginia, a son of Samuel Bumgarner. The Medal of Honor winner was preceded in death by his wife and two children.

Survivors included daughters Mrs. Charles Cole of Liberty Center and Mrs. William Lewellyn of Indianapolis and sons Marion of Huntington, Homer of Pennville, John of Brookville and Ira of Liberty Center.

The Huntington County Champion Hill group’s name derives from one of the battle elements at Vicksburg.

According to information from the organization, “Of the many battlefields that Huntington men fought on, none was more important or saw a larger sacrifice than the field at Champion Hill, Mississippi, on May 16, 1863.

“Ancestors of members of the camp fought in the 16th Indiana, 34th Indiana, 47th Indiana, 69th Indiana and 42nd Ohio at Champion Hill, or the next day at Big Black Ridge.

“The camp number--17--was from the fact that more (Huntington) county men had been killed or mortally wounded during the Champion Hill battle than on any other day in American history.”

The May 26 ceremony will follow the ritual of SUVCW in dedicating a headstone.

Champion Hill Camp commander Archie Lintz will serve as host and past commander Steve Williams will be the main speaker.

The Company Singers of Camp 17 will provide music. Department of Indiana Chaplain Rich McConnell will offer the dedication prayer.

The Bluffton American Legion Post 111 color guard will render a salute and Sean McConnell will offer “taps.”

Others to participate and be represented will be the Wells County Historical Society which will lay a wreath on Bumgarner’s grave, members of the Bluffton unit of the Indiana National Guard, Post 111 Commander Kash Vanover, Liberty Township Trustee Diane Rockwell, Wells County Veterans Service Officer Claude McMillen, Wells County veterans, members of the 44th Indiana Civil War reenactment regiment and descendents of Sgt. Bumgarner.

The public also is encouraged to attend the Medal of Honor headstone tribute.

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