Emmer Bowen (October 10, 1830 – December 26, 1912) was a
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
soldier 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 ...
. He 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 gallantry during the
Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...
on May 22, 1863.
Bowen joined the 127th Illinois Infantry in August 1862, and was transferred to the
Invalid Corps
The Veteran Reserve Corps (originally the Invalid Corps) was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwise infirm soldiers (or former soldiers) to perform lig ...
the following year.
Illinois Service Record
Union assault
On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
. The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack.
The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. The assault began in the early morning following a naval bombardment.
The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were killed.
Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor citation
For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863.
See also
* List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
*Battle of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...
*83rd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry
The 83rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, sometimes called 83rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 83rd Indiana Infantry was organized at Lawrenceburg, ...
Notes
References
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External links
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A Forlorn Hope
Union Army soldiers
American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
1830 births
1912 deaths
Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery
People of New York (state) in the American Civil War
People of Illinois in the American Civil War
People of California in the American Civil War
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