Reuben Smalley (28 April 1839 - 9 July 1926) was a

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in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

who was awarded 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 ...

. He was awarded the medal on 9 July 1864 for actions performed at 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 ...

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 ...

in May 1863.

Personal life

Smalley was born on 28 April 1839 in Reading Center,

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to parents Elias and Rozelphia Smalley. His father died when he was three years old, and he was subsequently taken in by his uncle to be raised in Jennings County,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He married Martha Ann Johnson in 1859 and fathered two children, both of whom died in childhood. After the war, he worked as a railroad construction worker and steam engine operator. He was also elected as constable of Greensburg, Indiana. He died on 9 July 1926 in Greensburg and was buried in South Park Cemetery in Greensburg.

Military service

Smalley enlisted in the Army as a private on 15 August 1862 in Holton, Indiana and was assigned to Company F of the 83rd Indiana Infantry. On 22 May 1863, at the Siege of Vicksburg, Smalley volunteered to participate in an infantry charge, the objective of which was to build a bridge over a Confederate trench so that Union forces could take the town of

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

. The charge did not achieve its objective, with over 85% of the 150 men participating in it being killed or wounded throughout the ten hour affair. For this action, the survivors of the charge, including Smalley, were awarded the Medal of Honor. Smalley's Medal of Honor citation reads: Smalley was mustered out of the Army on 1 June 1865 in

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smalley, Reuben American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients 1839 births 1926 deaths