Joseph H. De Castro

Infobox Military Person
name= Joseph H. De Castro
born= birth date|1844|11|14
died= death date and age|1892|5|8|1844|11|14
placeofbirth= Boston, Massachusetts
placeofdeath= Newark, New Jersey
placeofburial= Fairmount Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Union United States of America
branch= United States Army Union Army
serviceyears=
rank= Corporal
commands=
unit= Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry
battles=American Civil War *Battle of Gettysburg,
awards= Medal of Honor Civil War Campaign Medal
laterwork=
corporal Joseph H. De Castro (November 14, 1844-May 8, 1892) born in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first Hispanic-American to be awarded the United States' highest military decoration for valor in combat — the Medal of Honor — for having distinguished himself during Pickett's Charge in the Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War.

Biography

De Castro was the Massachusetts State flag bearer of Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry, an all volunteer unit. The unit participated in the Battle of Gettysburg at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as part of the III Corps 3rd Brigade, U.S. Army under the command of Colonel Norman J. Hall.

On July 3, 1863, the third and last day of the battle, his unit participated in what became known as Pickett's Charge. Pickett's Charge was a disastrous infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge.

During the battle, De Castro attacked a confederate flag bearer from the 19th Virginia regiment, with the staff of his own colors and seized the opposing regiment's flag, handing the prize over to General Alexander S. Webb. General Webb is quoted as saying, "At the instant a man broke through my lines and thrust a rebel battle flag into my hands. He never said a word and darted back. It was Corporal Joseph H. De Castro, one of my color bearers. He had knocked down a color bearer in the enemy's line with the staff of the Massachusetts State colors, seized the falling flag and dashed it to me". [ "The Magazine of American History", page 18. ]

On December 1, 1864, De Castro was one of seven men from the 19th Massachusetts Infantry to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor citation

Sergeant Joseph H. De Castro
"
Rank and organization:" Corporal, Company I, 19th Massachusetts Infantry
"
Place and date:" At Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863
"
Born:"Boston, Mass.
"
Date of issue: December 1, 1864
"
Citation:
"
Capture of flag of 19th Virginia regiment (C.S) [ [http://www.medalofhonor.com/JosephDeCastro.htm Civil War Medals of Honor] . Retrieved on 20 July 2006. Medal of Honor citation]

Personal

De Castro was married to Rosalia Rodriguez. He died on May 8, 1892 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey.

Awards and decorations

Joseph H. De Castro's awards and decorations include the following:

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*
*List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients

Notes

References

* [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0bbVKBIy4W8DS2uFoq&id=OuIDUBmxXLUC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=Joseph+H.+De+Castro&ie=ISO-8859-1 "The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries", Martha J. Lamb (editor), volume XVIII, July-December 1887] . Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
* [http://www.medalofhonor.com/JosephDeCastro.htm Civil War Medals of Honor] . Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
* [http://www.army.mil/hispanicamericans/spanish/timeline/civilwar.html Hispanic-Americans in the Army] . Retrieved on July 20, 2006.

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/gett/soldierlife/honor.htm Gettysburg's Medal of Honor Recipients] . Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
* [http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/gettysburg/misc/usaunits.aspx Units of the ARMY at the Battle of Gettysburg] . Retrieved on July 20, 2006.

Further reading

*"Right Before Our Eyes: Latinos Past, Present & Future", Robert Montemayor, Henry (COL) Mendoza.
*"Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage", Noah Andre Trudeau.
*"Pickett's Charge — The Last Attack at Gettysburg", Earl J Hess.

Persondata
NAME= De Castro, Joseph H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=