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 citationedit
For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863.
john, newfoundland, politician, john, 1839, 1905, union, army, soldier, during, american, civil, received, medal, honor, gallantry, during, siege, vicksburg, 1863, 1880bornc, 1839irelanddied1905, aged, quincy, illinois, united, statesplace, burialsunset, cemet. For the Newfoundland politician see John R O Dea John O Dea c 1839 1905 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 John O DeaO Dea in 1880Bornc 1839IrelandDied1905 aged 65 66 Quincy Illinois United StatesPlace of burialSunset Cemetery Quincy IllinoisAllegianceUnited States of AmericaUnionService wbr branchUnited States ArmyUnion ArmyRankPrivateUnitCompany D 8th Missouri Volunteer InfantryBattles warsAmerican Civil War Siege of VicksburgAwardsMedal of Honor Contents 1 Union assault 2 Medal of Honor citation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksUnion assault editOn 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 editFor gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863 See also edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp American Civil War portalList of Medal of Honor recipients List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients M PReferences edit John O Dea Hall of Valor Military Times Retrieved October 13 2010 External links edit John O Dea Claim to Fame Medal of Honor recipients Find a Grave Retrieved October 13 2010 A Forlorn Hope Archived from the original on October 11 2010 Retrieved October 13 2010 Vicksburg Medal of Honor Recipients Retrieved October 13 2010 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 John O 27Dea amp oldid 1190088046, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
