David Ayres (April 4, 1841 – December 11, 1916) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg[1] on May 22, 1863. His last name was spelled as Ayers on his enlistment and maintains the spelling on his medal.[2][3]
On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi.[4] 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.[4] 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 citationedit
For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863[1].
Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
War Department, U.S. (1880). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
"AYERS, DAVID". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
"David Ayers". THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS. VCOnline. 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
david, ayres, soldier, other, people, with, similar, names, david, ayres, disambiguation, david, ayres, april, 1841, december, 1916, union, army, soldier, during, american, civil, received, medal, honor, gallantry, during, siege, vicksburg, 1863, last, name, s. For other people with similar names see David Ayres disambiguation David Ayres April 4 1841 December 11 1916 was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg 1 on May 22 1863 His last name was spelled as Ayers on his enlistment and maintains the spelling on his medal 2 3 David AyresOther name s David AyersBorn 1841 04 29 April 29 1841Kalida Ohio USDiedDecember 11 1916 1916 12 11 aged 75 Chicago Illinois USPlace of burialOak Woods Cemetery ChicagoAllegianceUnited States of AmericaUnionService wbr branchUnited States ArmyUnion ArmyYears of service1861 1865RankFirst LieutenantUnit57th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry Company ABattles warsAmerican Civil War Siege of VicksburgAwardsMedal of Honor Contents 1 Union assault 2 Medal of Honor citation 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksUnion assault edit nbsp Ayres grave at Oak Woods CemeteryOn May 22 1863 General Ulysses S Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg Mississippi 4 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 4 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 editFor gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863 1 See also editList of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients A F Battle of Vicksburg 57th Ohio Volunteer Infantry RegimentNotes edit a b War Department 1880 CMOHS 2014 VCOnline 2020 a b Dyer 1908 p 428 References editDyer Frederick H 1908 A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion Des Moines IA Dyer Pub Co ASIN B01BUFJ76Q War Department U S 1880 The War of the Rebellion A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Washington DC U S Government Printing Office OCLC 857196196 AYERS DAVID Congressional Medal of Honor Society CMOHS 2014 Retrieved August 19 2014 David Ayers THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA amp GEORGE CROSS VCOnline 2020 Retrieved May 2 2020 External links editA Forlorn Hope Vicksburg Medal of Honor Recipients nbsp Biography portal nbsp American Civil War portal nbsp United States portal nbsp Pennsylvania portal nbsp nbsp This biographical article related to the United States Army is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a person of the American Civil War is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Ayres soldier amp oldid 1177117439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
