James S. Cunningham

James Smith Cunningham (1840 – 1921) 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.

James Smith Cunningham
Born(1840-12-30)December 30, 1840
Washington County, Pennsylvania
DiedApril 1, 1921(1921-04-01) (aged 80)
Kansas
Place of burial
Big Creek Cemetery, Burlington, Kansas
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
RankPrivate
Unit 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry - Company D
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
 • Siege of Vicksburg
AwardsMedal of Honor

Union assault

On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3][4]"

See also

Notes
  1. Dyer (1908), p. 170.
  2. War Department (1889), p. 150, Vol. XXIV-XXXVI-II.
  3. CMOHS (2014).
  4. VCOnline (2020).

References
  • Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
  • War Department, U.S. (1889). Operations in Mississippi and West Tennessee, including those in Arkansas and Louisiana connected with the Siege of Vicksburg. January 20 - August 10, 1863 - Reports, May 16-August 10. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. XXIV-XXXVI-II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
  • "CUNNINGHAM, JAMES S." Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  • "James Smith Cunningham". THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS. VCOnline. 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.


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