Walter Goodale Morrill (November 13, 1840 – March 3, 1935) 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 ...

officer 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 ...

and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, 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 his actions at the

Second Battle of Rappahannock Station The Second Battle of Rappahannock Station took place on November 7, 1863, near the village of Rappahannock Station (now Remington, Virginia), on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. It was between Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early ...

in November 1863. Also, Morrill's earlier actions in July 1863 at Gettysburg are considered essential for the famous Union victory on

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left fla ...

. Morrill was raised in

Williamsburg, Maine Northeast Piscataquis is an unincorporated area in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 304 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the unorganized territory has a total area of 1,820.4& ...

. In 1861 the age of 20, he enlisted as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in Company A,

6th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 6th Maine Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 6th Maine Infantry was organized in Portland, Maine and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on July 15, 1861. T ...

. A year later he was commissioned as an officer in Company B,

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment of the United States Army (Union Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, ...

. He was promoted several times, ultimately to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He mustered out on June 4, 1865. His Medal of Honor citation states: At the action of

Morrill led his unit at the decisive point of the bayonet charge without orders. His contingent created the impression of two regiments rushing through the woods, though it consisted only of 44 Company B soldiers and 14 U.S. Sharpshooters. It was Morrill's group of Union soldiers that Confederate Lt. Col. (later Brig. Gen.)

William C. Oates William Calvin Oates (either November 30 or December 1, 1835September 9, 1910) was a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, the 29th Governor of Alabama from 1894 to 1896, and a brigadier general in the U.S. Arm ...

believed caused panic in his Confederate soldiers. Without Morrill's sudden assault from the Confederates' right,

Joshua Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a highly respected and ...

's famous bayonet attack, often credited for saving Little Round Top and Gettysburg from defeat, probably would have been spoiled and pushed back by Oates men. Joshua Chamberlain - Brady-Handy

During their retreat, the Confederates were subjected to a volley of rifle fire from Company B of the 20th Maine, commanded by Morrill, and a few of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters, who had been placed by Chamberlain behind a stone wall 150 yards to the east, hoping to guard against an envelopment. This group, who had been hidden from sight, caused considerable confusion in the Confederate ranks. Of Little Round Top, Brig. Gen. Oates said, From Colonel Chamberlain's after action report:: "Captain Morrill with his skirmishers (send out from my left flank), with some dozen or fifteen of the U.S. Sharpshooters who had put themselves under his (Morrill's) direction, fell upon the enemy as they were breaking, and by his demonstrations, as well as his well-directed fire, added much to the effect of the ayonetcharge ... that cleared the front of nearly our entire brigade." Morrill led troops in many other battles, including at Appomattox, and became a prominent businessman in Pittsfield, Maine after the war.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrill, Walter Goodale 1840 births 1935 deaths People from Piscataquis County, Maine Union Army officers People of Maine in the American Civil War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor Burials in Maine