Louis Renninger (August 25, 1841 - November 17, 1908) was a Union 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 gallantry in 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 ...

. On May 22, 1863, Renninger was one of 150 Union soldiers who volunteered to lead an assault on the Confederate heights at the Battle of Vicksburg,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. The plan was for the volunteer storming party 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 a " forlorn hope" in nineteenth century vernacular. 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 and it was a failure. 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 under the command of General Grant, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, two-thirds were killed. Corporal Louis Renninger of Company H, 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was one of the survivors and for his gallantry, he was awarded the

in 1894. As a result of his injuries, he was transferred to the

Veteran Reserve 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 ...

, and discharged in October 1864. Heading to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

after the war, Renninger and his wife Elizabeth had a family farm in the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, th ...

Lane County, Oregon Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Orego ...

. He is buried in the

Eugene Pioneer Cemetery Eugene Pioneer Cemetery (also Pioneer Memorial Cemetery and Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Cemetery) is a pioneer cemetery in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is one of the three oldest cemeteries in Eugene. It is the largest in both ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 37th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Vicksburg, Miss., 22 May 1863. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Liverpool, Ohio. Date of issue: 15 August 1894. Citation:

Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Renninger, Louis 1841 births 1908 deaths Union Army soldiers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People of Ohio in the American Civil War People of Oregon in the American Civil War People from Lane County, Oregon Burials in Oregon American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References