Thomas R. Kerr (April 24, 1843 – November 14, 1926) was a soldier in the Union Army in the American Civil War. Kerr received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor. Kerr's medal was won for his capturing the flag of the Confederate 8th Virginia Cavalry Regiment at Moorefield in West Virginia on August 7, 1864. He was honored with the award on June 13, 1894.

Medal of Honor citation

Background

Kerr was born in

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, Ireland. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

with the 14th Pennsylvania Cavalry in November 1862. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in May 1864 and resigned in June 1865. Kerr is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.

Battle

Kerr earned his medal in the Battle of Moorefield on August 7, 1864. The battle occurred in a portion of West Virginia that was hostile to the Union during the American Civil War. Kerr led a group of 60 men into a Confederate camp early in the morning. Two Union brigades under the command of Brigadier General

William W. Averell William Woods Averell (November 5, 1832 – February 3, 1900) was a career United States Army officer and a cavalry general in the American Civil War. He was the only Union general to achieve a major victory against the Confederates in the V ...

followed, and the Union force surprised and routed a larger Confederate cavalry force that had burned the Pennsylvania town of Chambersburg only a few days earlier. Kerr was shot in the face and thigh, and his horse killed—yet he captured the flag of the 8th Virginia Cavalry Regiment and rode away on the color bearer's horse. Averell's small division captured 27 officers and 393 enlisted men, 4 artillery pieces, and 400 horses. The Confederate killed and wounded was unknown. Union losses were 7 killed and 21 wounded. A Union soldier that fought in the battle estimated that the "loss to the enemy in killed, wounded and captured was near eight hundred". The loss severely damaged Confederate cavalry in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Thomas R. 1843 births 1926 deaths American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Irish emigrants to the United States People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War People from Coleraine, County Londonderry Military personnel from Pittsburgh Union Army officers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from County Londonderry