Abner P. Allen
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Abner P. Allen (October 9, 1839 – August 22, 1905) was an American soldier who received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for valor during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.


Biography

Allen was born in
Woodford County, Illinois Woodford County is a county located in the state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census listed its population at 38,664. Its county seat is Eureka. Woodford County is part of the Peoria, IL, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its name comes fro ...
. He joined the
39th Illinois infantry Regiment The 39th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, nicknamed "Yates' Phalanx," was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 39th Illinois Infantry was organized at Chicago, Illinois, and was muster ...
from
Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, in January 1864, and mustered out with his regiment on December 6, 1865.Illinois Service Record
/ref> By the time the 39th was involved in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, Allen was a corporal in Company K. When the regiment (as part of the XXIV Corps under Major General
John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...
) was assaulting
Fort Gregg Fort Gregg was a Confederate States of America, Confederate fort located near Petersburg, Virginia. The battle for Fort Gregg occurred on April 2, 1865, as part of the Third Battle of Petersburg in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, Dinwiddie County nea ...
on April 2, 1865, under heavy fire, he was at the front as a
color bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a Standard (flag), standard or Military colours, standards and guidons, military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible b ...
. At the surrender ceremony at Appomattox Courthouse a week later, Allen was given the honor of carrying
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
' flag. He later traveled to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
with General Gibbon and 76 captured Confederate colors. He received his medal there from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Allen died in 1905 and is buried in Centerburg Cemetery,
Centerburg, Ohio Centerburg is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Knox County, Ohio, Knox County, Ohio, United States, along the North Fork of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking River. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the village populati ...
.


Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company K, 39th Illinois Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865. Entered service at: Bloomington, Ill. Birth: Woodford County, Ill. Date of issue: May 12, 1865. Citation:
Gallantry as color bearer in the assault on Fort Gregg.


See also

* List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Abner P. 1839 births 1905 deaths Union Army soldiers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People of Illinois in the American Civil War People from Woodford County, Illinois American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor