William H. Barnes

Infobox Military Person
name=William Henry Barnes
born= 1840 or 1845
died= December 24 Death year and age|1866|1840 or Death year and age|1866|1845
placeofbirth=Saint Mary's County, Maryland
placeofdeath=Indianola, Texas
placeofburial= San Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Union
branch= United States Army Union Army
serviceyears=1864-1866
rank=Sergeant
commands=
unit=38th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment
battles=American Civil War *Battle of Chaffin's Farm
awards=Medal of Honor
laterwork=

William Henry Barnes (c. 1840 or 1845-December 24, 1866) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Barnes worked as a farmer before enlisting in the Army from from Norfolk, Virginia, on February 11 1864. He joined as a private into Company C of the 38th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. His enlistment papers record his age as 23, implying a birth year of 1840 or 1841, but other sources give his birth as 1845.Hanna, p. 15]

At the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, on September 29, 1864, Barnes' regiment was among a division of black troops assigned to attack the center of the Confederate defenses at New Market Heights. The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and one line of palisades manned by Brigadier General John Gregg's Texas Brigade. The attack was met with intense Confederate fire; over fifty percent of the black troops were killed, captured, or wounded.Hanna, p. 16] Barnes was awarded the Medal of Honor for being " [a] mong the first to enter the enemy's works; although wounded." [http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/civwaral.html Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A-L)] ] His medal was issued six months after the battle, on 6 April 1865, and he was promoted to Sergeant another three months later, on July 1 1865.

Barnes remained in the Army after the war, traveling to Texas with his regiment. He died of tuberculosis at an Army hospital in Indianola on December 24 1866. A marker in his memory was placed in San Antonio National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 38th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Chapins Farm, Va., 29 September 1864. Entered service at:------. Birth: St. Marys County, Md. Date of issue 6 April 1865.

Citation::Among the first to enter the enemy's works; although wounded.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*

Notes

References

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients (A-L)
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date = 2005-04-27
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/civwaral.html
accessdate = 2007-01-08

*cite book
last = Hanna
first = Charles W.
title = African American recipients of the Medal of Honor: a biographical dictionary, Civil War through Vietnam War
publisher = McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
year = 2002
location = Jefferson, North Carolina
pages = pp. 15-16
isbn = 0-7864-1355-7

External links

*findagrave|18172 Retrieved on 2007-01-08