William Pittenger (January 31, 1840 Knoxville,

Jefferson County, Ohio Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,249. Its county seat is Steubenville. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was vice president at the time of its creation. ...

– April 24, 1904

Fallbrook, California Fallbrook is a CDP in northern San Diego County, California. Fallbrook had a population of 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census. Fallbrook's downtown is not on a major highway route. It is west of Interstate 15 or n ...

) 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 ...

soldier 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 ...

. He was one of the first recipients of 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. ...

Biography

The son of Thomas and Mary Mills Pittenger, Pittenger studied in the county schools until the age of sixteen. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company H of the 2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment on April 17, 1861, for three months of service, during which time he participated in the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

. He soon re-enlisted in the Army for a three-year term, being mustered in on September 11, 1861, at

Camp Dennison, Ohio Camp Dennison is a census-designated place (CDP) just outside Indian Hill in southern Symmes Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45111. The population was 384 at the 2010 census. History The ...

, and days later joining the reconstituted 2nd Ohio Infantry as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in Company G. Promoted to

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 ...

on March 13, 1862, Pittenger saw action in Andrews' Raid, also referred to as the

Great Locomotive Chase The Great Locomotive Chase (also known as Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civilian scout James J. And ...

. Captured on April 15, 1862, near

Lafayette, Georgia LaFayette ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Walker County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,888. It was founded as Chattooga. LaFayette is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, he escaped execution as a spy and was imprisoned until March 18, 1863, when he was paroled via

City Point, Virginia City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia, that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. History 1613-186 ...

. Following his release and subsequent receipt of the

, Pittenger was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and served until impaired health forced him to resign. He was discharged with a disability on August 14, 1863, at Anderson Station, Tennessee. He married Wilhelmina "Winnie" Clyde Osborne of

New Brighton, Pennsylvania New Brighton is a borough in north-central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Beaver River northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Histor ...

, on May 17, 1864; they had two sons and four daughters. Following his discharge from the Army, Pittenger entered the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

conference of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in 1864. He was transferred to the New Jersey conference in 1870 and worked there until at least 1888. Beginning in 1878 he was a professor at the National School of Elocution and Oratory in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1890 he moved with his family to

. He served as pastor of the Methodist church there from 1893 to 1896 and from 1898 to 1899. He bought a home on a 20-acre property; the home is now known as the Pittenger House and is owned by the Fallbrook Historical Society. The family also had a home in town on Fig Street near the church; that home still stands and is now an Alzheimer's day care center. Pittenger helped to organize a high school district in Fallbrook and served as president of the school board. He is the author of ''Daring and Suffering, a History of the Great Railroad Adventurers'' (Philadelphia, 1863; enlarged ed., New York, 1887); ''Oratory, Sacred and Secular'' (Philadelphia, 1881); ''The Interwoven Gospels and Gospel Harmony'' (1881) and ''Extempore Speech'' (1882). He died in 1904 and was buried at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Fallbrook on April 25, 1904. A Medal of Honor marker was placed on his grave on July 7, 1988.

Citation

Pittenger was awarded the fifth-ever

on March 25, 1863, for his service during the Great Locomotive Chase. His official citation reads: "One of the 19 of 22 men (including 2 civilians) who, by direction of Gen. Mitchell (or Buell), penetrated nearly 200 miles south into enemy territory and captured a railroad train at Big Shanty, Ga., in an attempt to destroy the bridges and tract between

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

."Medal of Honor Citation
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pittenger, William 1904 deaths 1840 births People from Jefferson County, Ohio People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers American Civil War spies United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Fallbrook, California Great Locomotive Chase

Biography

Citation

See also

References

External links