David F. Day

David F. Day
Born	March 7, 1847(1847-03-07) Dallasburg, Ohio
Died	June 22, 1914(1914-06-22) (aged 67) Colorado
Place of burial	Riverside Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Rank	Private
Unit	Company D, 57th Ohio Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War  • Siege of Vicksburg
Awards	Medal of Honor

David Frakes Day (1847 – 1914) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863.

Union assault

On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. The assault began in the early morning following a naval bombardment.

The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were killed. Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor citation

For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863.^[1]

See also

	American Civil War portal
	United States Army portal
	Biography portal

• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F

References

1. ^ "Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A–L)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. December 3, 2010. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/civwaral.html. Retrieved March 19, 2011. 

External links

• "David F. Day". Hall of Valor. Military Times. http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=609. Retrieved March 15, 2011. 
• Findagrave
• A Forlorn Hope
• Vicksburg Medal of Honor Recipients

Persondata
Name	Day, David F.
Alternative names
Short description	Union Army Medal of Honor recipient
Date of birth	March 7, 1847
Place of birth	Dallasburg, Ohio
Date of death	June 22, 1914
Place of death	Colorado