David Dickie

David Dickie (July 13, 1841 – August 26, 1904) 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. His surname is sometimes spelled Dickey.

For the merchant, ship owner and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada, see David M. Dickie.
David Dickie
Born(1841-07-13)July 13, 1841
Scotland
DiedAugust 26, 1904(1904-08-26) (aged 63)
Illinois
Place of burial
Gillespie City Cemetery, Gillespie, Illinois
AllegianceUnited States of America
Union
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1862 - 1865
RankSergeant
Unit 97th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment - Company A
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
 • Siege of Vicksburg
AwardsMedal of Honor

Dickie joined the 97th Illinois Infantry in August 1862, and was mustered out in July 1865.[1]

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.

See also

References
  1. Illinois Service Record
  • "Civil War (A-L), Dickie, David entry". Medal of Honor recipients. United States Army Center of Military History. August 6, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  • "David Dickie". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  • Don Morphe (November 14, 2003). "David Dickie". Claim to Fame:Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  • "A Forlorn Hope". Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  • "Vicksburg Medal of Honor recipients". Retrieved September 29, 2010.
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