John H. Haight (July 1, 1841 - April 8, 1917) was a

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soldier who fought with the Union Army 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 ...

as a member of the 72nd New York Infantry. He was recognized with his nation's highest honor for valor, the U.S.

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 the extraordinary heroism he displayed in 1862 during the

Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitc ...

, Manassas Station Operations, and

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

Formative years

Born in

Westfield, New York Westfield is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 4,513 at the 2020 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population. This unique to ...

on July 1, 1841, John H. Haight was a son of Henry A. Haight (1799–1845) and Nancy (Griffin) Haight (1806–1898). He and his siblings, Ashley (1826–1852), Charles Edward (1832–1894), Oscar (born c. 1835), Sarah M. (1836–1912), Frances (born c. 1838), and George (1843–1862), spent their formative years with their parents in

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, New York, Mayville, an ...

— years which were marked by two major transitions: the death of their father in 1845, and the remarriage of their mother, six years later, to Albert Scott, a farmer in Westfield.

Civil War

John H. Haight and his younger brother, George, became two of New York's earliest responders to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to defend

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, ...

following the mid-April 1861

fall of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War. Follo ...

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

troops. After his brother mustered in for a three-year term of service as a private with Company E of the

72nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 72nd New York Infantry Regiment was one of five infantry regiments formed by former U.S. Congressman Daniel Sickles and established as part of the Excelsior Brigade which fought with the Union Army during multiple key engagements of the America ...

on June 20, 1861, John Haight then also enlisted, at the age of 22, for a three-year term on July 17, 1861 in Westfield, New York. Also officially mustering in with the 72nd New York Infantry, John Haight did so on July 24 as a private with the regiment's G Company. He was then promoted to the rank of corporal on September 1. Initially under the command Colonel

Nelson Taylor Nelson Taylor (June 8, 1821 – January 16, 1894) was a U.S. Representative from New York, a brigadier-general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a captain in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. Biography Born in So ...

, the Haight brothers and their regiment were transported to

, where they assisted in the defense of the city before participating in the Union Army's expedition to lower Maryland (September 15–October 2, 1861). They were then reassigned with Sickles' Brigade to the U.S.

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

in October as part of the division commanded by Brigadier-General

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

. Their next significant deployment came as part of the U.S. Army's Third Corps, Second Division when they engaged in the Union Army's advance on Manassas, Virginia (March 10, 1862), the expedition from Dumfries to Fredericksburg, capture of stores (March 18), and reconnoissance from Liverpool Point to Stafford Court House and subsequent operations there (April 4). Reassigned with their regiment to the Peninsula Campaign, it was during this phase of service that one of the Haight brothers would be killed in action while the other would perform the heroic acts which would ultimately lead to his being awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor. Participants in the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

, Virginia (April 5–May 4, 1862), they fought together in the

(May 5). On that day, John Haight was severely wounded in action while carrying a wounded comrade to safety. In recalling his actions later for an interview by historians W. F. Beyer and O. F. Keydel, John Haight described what happened:

I was out on the skirmish line with our company at the time, and after holding our position for some time, the firing of the enemy was so severe that we were compelled to retreat. This we did slowly, paying back shot for shot. We had retreated to a place of comparative safety, when I noticed that my comrade R. B. Wilson, was missing, having been wounded or killed in the retreat. My captain called for someone to volunteer to assist him in bringing Wilson off the field. I volunteered, and we started for the late scene of action. Not knowing exactly where he had fallen, we spent some time in searching for him. At last we found him and started with him for our lines. While we had been looking for him the enemy had completely surrounded us and cut off our escape. I tried to attract their attention so that the captain could manage to escape, and in so doing was shot in the left groin, received a pretty severe scratch across both legs, and a buckshot wound in the belt. I fell, and was immediately taken prisoner, but the next day, when they found I was unable to walk I was let out on parole. I managed to return to my company, then at Harrison's Landing.

While his brother recuperated from his battle wounds, George Haight continued to fight on with the 72nd New York, engaging the enemy in the Battle of Seven Pines/Fair Oaks (May 31–June 1). Reunited that summer, the brothers then fought with their respective companies in the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...

, including at Oak Grove (June 25), the Peach Orchard and Savage's Station (June 29), White Oak Swamp,

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(June 30), and

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(July 1), where George Haight was killed by enemy fire. Just over three weeks later, on July 23, 1862, John Haight was promoted to the rank of sergeant."72nd Regiment, New York Infantry", in "The Civil War", U.S. National Park Service."72nd Infantry Regiment: Civil War: Third Regiment, Excelsior, or Sickles', Brigade", New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. Transferred from the Peninsula during the fall of 1862, Sergeant John Haight and his fellow 72nd New York Volunteers next saw heavy action in the Union's Manassas Station Operations (August 25–27) and the

(August 28–30). Once again, Haight demonstrated Medal of Honor-winning valor:Beyer and Keydel. ''Deeds of Valor from Records in the Archives of the United States Government: How American Heroes Won the Medal of Honor'', Vol. I: "Three Deeds of Valor", pp. 28-29.

On August 27, 1862, at the battle of Bristow (sic) Station, I was suffering greatly from a severe carbuncle on my neck. On this account I was ordered to the rear before the battle commenced. From my dreary position I could hear the distant rattle of musketry, and longed to be with my comrades. Soon I began to formulate schemes whereby I could rejoin my regiment. I gave this up and decided simply to forget my orders and join my company. Here I fought until the battle was over, when I fainted and had to be carried from the field.

John Haight then saved the lives of more members of his regiment while fighting with the 72nd New York in the

on August 29. According to Beyer and Keydel:

The company, to which he belonged, was flanked and compelled to fall back upon the main body of the brigade. When the retreat had been completed the captain called for volunteers to rescue any wounded that would otherwise fall into the hands of the Confederates. Sergeant Haight and two others immediately volunteered for the service. They advanced towards the enemy's lines under a heavy fire, and succeeded in bringing out Private Plumb and several others whose names are not known.

Honorably discharged on March 1, 1863 from Camp Nelson Taylor in Virginia via a surgeon's certificate of disability, Haight's heroism was declared "extraordinary" 25 years later when he was awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor on June 8, 1888 (see "Medal of Honor citation" below).

Post-war life

Following his honorable discharge from the military, John Haight returned home to Westfield, and resumed life with his mother, stepfather and siblings. By the time of the 1865 New York State Census, he had married Louisa Pike (1842–1932), a native of England. Residing with his wife at his mother's home, he worked as a tinsmith. Five years later, the couple resided in their own home. Their only daughter, Nellie, was then born circa 1880. By 1915, Haight and his wife were once again the sole occupants of their Westfield home. Haight died in Westfield at the age of 75, on April 8, 1917, and was buried at East Ripley Cemetery in

Ripley, New York Ripley is a town on Lake Erie in the westernmost part of Chautauqua County, New York. The population was 2,310 at the time of the 2020 census. The town was named after Eleazer Wheelock Ripley, a general in the War of 1812. There are no incorpora ...

.Hyde, Barb. "John M. Haight: Civil War", in
Medal of Honor - All Service (Chautauqua County, NY)
. Cattaraugus County, New York: Painted Hills Genealogical Society, November 2015.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company G, 72d New York Infantry. Place and date: At Williamsburg, Va., May 5, 1862. At Bristol Station, Va., August 27, 1862. At Manassas, Va., August 29-30, 1862. Entered service at: Westfield, N.Y. Date of issue: June 8, 1888. Citation:

Notes

References

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External links

* Brown, Henri Le Fevre.
History of the Third Regiment, Excelsior Brigade, 72d New York Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865
'. Jamestown, New York: Journal Printing Co., 1902. *
John H. Haight
(memorial with photograph and gravesite information). Salt Lake City, Utah: Find A Grave, retrieved online August 11, 2018. {{American Civil War , expanded=CTCBS 1841 births 1917 deaths People from Westfield, New York Burials in New York (state) People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Ripley, New York