The Medal of Honor

For Conspicuous Gallantry and Intrepidity in Action At the Risk of Life Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
The Medal of Honor is our Nations highest military decoration. Due to its rigorous selection criteria, there have been fewer than 3,500 recipientsand of those, fully one in four are New Yorkers. In our own region, at least 45 Medal of Honor recipients have been associated with Oswego, Jefferson or St. Lawrence Counties. New York Stateand particularly the communities of Northern and Central New Yorkis truly the Home of Heroes. This exhibit honors recipients of the Medal of Honor, in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the awards creation by President Abraham Lincoln. Ive introduced legislation to pay tribute to New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the bridges and overpasses of our state in their honor. Learn more about my Heroes Highways bill by visiting my website, www.ritchie.nysenate.gov.
New York State Senator

Patty Ritchie

Mary Walker Edwards

1832-1919
The only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor
When the Civil War broke out, Oswegos Dr. Mary Walker went to Washington to join the Union Army. Denied a commission as a medical of cer, she volunteered anyway, and became the Armys rst female surgeon. Dr. Walker worked in an Army hospital in Washington, later joining the front lines as a eld surgeon. She was taken prisoner and imprisoned for four months. She was paid just $766.16 for her years of wartime service, and eventually received a monthly pension of $8.50. But her service was recognized when she received the Medal of Honor in 1865.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Sfc. Jared Christopher Monti 1975 - 2006

Modern day hero
A member of the 10th Mountain Division posted to Fort Drum, Sgt. First Class Jared Monti was serving as the leader of a forward observer team when they were attacked by 60 or more insurgents. The Americans took cover and returned re, and Monti radioed for artillery and close air support. Monti made three attempts to reach a wounded companion. On his rst, he advanced to within three feet of his comrade before being forced back by intense machinegun and rocket-propelled grenade re. His second try was similarly turned back and as the rest of his patrol provided covering re, Monti advanced a third time but was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade. At about the same time, the artillery and air support he had requested began hitting the enemy, killing 22 of the attackers and dispersing the rest.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Sgt. Frederick Randolph Jackson

1844 1925
Suffered to keep Union secrets
Sgt. Frederick Jackson was commanding Company F of the Connecticut 7th Infantry during the attack on Fort Lamar, South Carolina. At daybreak, on June 16, 1862, Sgt. Jackson was struck above the elbow with a canister shot from an eight-inch cannon, and his left arm was shattered as he led his troops against the Confederate fort. With his right hand Jackson seized his splintered arm, pressed it tightly to prevent, as much as possible, the ow of blood, and dashed forward with his men. A second and third time he led his men in a charge against Fort Lamar, until he fell, 100 feet from the fort, fainting from the loss of blood. Later captured, he refused an offer of painkilling anesthesia in exchange for revealing secrets about Union military formations. He is buried in Smithville, Jefferson County.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Sgt. George H. Eldridge

1844 1918
Outnumbered 5-to-1
A native of Sackets Harbor, Sgt. George H. Eldridge was dispatched to pursue a band of 250 Kiowa warriors led by Chief Kicking Bird who had stolen a Texas mail shipment. Eldridge and 56 other cavalrymen were ambushed after a ve-day chase near Little Wichita River. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Eldridge and his fellow troopers forced Kicking Bird to retreat after heavy ghting. He died in Los Angeles, California.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Pvt. Joseph Lonsway

1844 1925
Swimming Through Fire

Born in Sackets Harbor, Pvt. Joseph Lonsway volunteered to swim across Virginias Blackwater River in the midst of strong enemy re to retrieve a at boat that could be used to ferry his company across to destroy a Confederate artillery position. This crossing, successful in large measure because of the actions of Private Lonsway, resulted in his detachment taking the enemys position on the far shore. He is buried in Clayton.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Pvt. Alaric B. Chapin

1848 1924
Led the Fall of Gibraltar
Pamelia, Jefferson County, native Pvt. Alaric B. Chapin volunteered to lead a detachment of Union forces from Company G, 142nd New York Infantry, to break through the wooden palisade protecting the heavily forti ed Fort Fisherknown as the Gibraltar of the South. Despite severe re from Confederate troops, Chapin led the charge from the beach against the Confederate fort, helping to open a way for the Union troops into the fort. He was born in Ogdensburg, and lived in Pamelia.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Cpt. Dayton Perry Clarke

1840 - 1915
Leading the Charge
Born in DeKalb, St. Lawrence County, Dayton Perry Clarke received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Virginia on May 12, 1864. After his three superior of cers were killed, Cpt. Clarke, commander of Company F of the 2nd Vermont Infantry, took command, and engaged in desperate hand-to-hand combat at Spotsylvania Courthouse, as he led his troops on a charge into the Confederate force.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Pvt. James Flanagan

1833 - 1905
Outgunned and Under Attack

Pvt. James Flanagan, a dairy farmer from Louisville, St. Lawrence County, was part of a 16-man detachment guarding a wagon train when it came under attack from Confederate forces at Nolinsville, Tenn. Flanagan and his fellow Union soldiers fought heroically to defend the wagons, and successfully repelled the 125 attacking enemy, saving the train from destruction or capture. He is buried in Louisville.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

1LT John T. Rutherford

1823 1898
Born in Waddington, First Lt. John T. Rutherford spent most of his life in Canton. On May 12, 1864, he was in command of the 9th New York Cavalry, and led a successful charge at Yellow Tavern, Va., capturing 90 Confederate soldiers. Two weeks later, he led an attack on the Confederate line at Hanovertown, Va., where he convinced a vastly superior force to surrender by shooting the horse of a Confederate of cer. He later served as Town Supervisor of Waddington.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Gen. Newton Martin Curtis

1835 1910
Hero of Fort Fisher
Gen. Newton Martin Curtis led the union attack on Fort Fisher, known as the Gibraltar of the South, near Wilmington, N.C. During the attack, he was wounded four times and lost an eye, but was still the rst man through the stockade. Within 90 days of that victory, with the Confederacys last seaport and its supply line from Europe cut, General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

William E. Willie Johnston

1855 1903
The Little Drummer Boy
12-year-old Willie Johnson, born in Morristown, earned the nickname, President Lincolns Drummer, and received the Medal of Honor, as the only musician still standing during the Peninsula Campaign at Harrisons Landing, Sept. 16, 1863. Musicians played an important role in rallying troops during the Civil War, and when other musicians were throwing down their instruments to make it easier to ee a Confederate advance, Willie kept his, an accomplishment that was reported all the way up to the Commander in Chief. President Lincoln personally ordered Willies Division Commander to recognize the boys bravery.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Col. Delavan Bates

1840 1918
Victory at the Crater
At Cemetery Hill, Virginia, Col. Delavan Bates, of Oswego, was commanding the US Colored Troops during the battle of the Crater. After union forces tunneled under the Confederate lines and planted 8000 lbs. of black powder explosive, the resulting explosion stopped almost 300 Confederate soldiers. After several other regiments were tangled up in the Crater, Col. Bates managed to break through the Confederate line, leading his troops forward past the enemy trenches, only to be shot in the face. He survived, and was later promoted to Brigadier General.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Pvt. Neil Bancroft

1846 unk.
From Oswego to Custers Last Stand
Pvt. Neil Bancroft, of Oswego, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during Custers Last Stand at Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876. George Armstrong Custers 7th Cavalry troops were badly outgunned, and Pvt. Bancroft showed extraordinary courage by carrying water under a most galling re from the river to the wounded soldiers for much of the engagement.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Pvt. James Granville Thompson Pvt. Allen Thompson

Brothers in Arms
Pvt. Allen Thompson

Brothers James and Allen Thompson were born at Sandy Creek, Oswego County. On April 2, 1865, during the Appomattox Campaign in Virginia, the two brothers volunteered to investigate a seemingly abandoned Confederate position when they were ambushed by about 50 Confederate soldiers. Ordered to lay down their guns and surrender, the Thompsons instead chose to ght, even though they were less than 100 feet from the larger enemy force.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.

Staff Sgt. Curtis Shoup

1921 1945
From Oswego to the Ardennes
Pinned down by mortar and machine gun re near Bastogne during the WW II Battle of the Bulge, S/Sgt. Shoup, an Oswego High School graduate who hailed from Scriba, took an automatic ri e, crouched and began delivering well-aimed re at an enemy machine gun. Though seriously wounded, he crawled alone in deep snow and threw a hand grenade, destroying the machine gun nest. He was attempting to knock out a second machine gun when he was mortally wounded. Inspired by his actions, Company I drove on and captured its critical objective, and a desperate situation turned to victory. He is buried in the North Scriba Union Cemetery.

Senator Patty Ritchie has proposed legislation to honor New Yorks Medal of Honor recipients by naming some of the states 20,000 highway bridges for these Hometown Heroes.