William Edgar Simonds (November 24, 1842 – March 14, 1903) was a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest award, 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 as a soldier 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 ...

Early life and education

Born in Collinsville, a neighborhood of

Canton, Connecticut Canton is a town, incorporated in 1806, located in the Farmington Valley section of Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,124 as of the 2020 census. It is bordered by Granby on the north, Simsbury on the east, Avon a ...

, Simonds attended the public school and Collinsville High School. He graduated from Connecticut State Normal School at

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

in 1860 and became a teacher.

Military career

During the Civil War, Simonds enlisted August 18, 1862 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 A, 25th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

before being mustered into the service. On April 14, 1863 he participated in the

Battle of Irish Bend The Battle of Irish Bend, also known as Nerson's Woods or Franklin, was a battle in the American Civil War. It was fought between Union Major General Nathaniel Prentice Banks against Confederate Major General Richard Taylor during Banks's oper ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. It was for his actions at Irish Bend that he would later be awarded the Medal of Honor. Ten days after the battle he became a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

with a promotion to

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and was reassigned to Company I of his regiment. He mustered out with his regiment in August 1863

Political career

After his military service, Simonds attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

and graduated in 1865. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced the practice of law in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. He served as a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

in 1883 and 1885, and served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in the latter year. Simonds was elected as a

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to the

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(March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the

52nd Congress The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1891, ...

. He then served as United States Commissioner of

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s from 1891 to 1893. Simonds served on the

Connecticut Agricultural College The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

's board of trustees and was a driving force behind the ouster of President Benjamin F. Koons in 1898 and the appointment of Simonds' friend and fellow Collinsville resident

George Washington Flint George Washington Flint (March 2, 1844 — October 23, 1921) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as the second president of Storrs Agricultural College, now the University of Connecticut, from 1898 to 1901. Education ...

as president. On February 25, 1899, Simonds was issued the Medal of Honor for his action at the Battle of Irish Bend thirty-six years earlier. After leaving politics, Simonds resumed the practice of law. He died in

, on March 14, 1903, and was buried at Village Cemetery in his hometown of Canton, Connecticut.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 25th Connecticut Infantry. Place and date: At Irish Bend, La., April 14, 1863. Entered service at: Canton, Conn. Birth: ------. Date of issue: February 25, 1899. Citation

Displayed great gallantry, under a heavy fire from the enemy, in calling in the skirmishers and assisting in forming the line of battle.

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