b. 01/04/1842 Charleston, South Carolina. d. 29/04/1926 Norwell, Massachusetts.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 02/07/1863 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Charles W Reed MOH
Reed was born into a well-off Boston family and attended private schools where he studied art. He joined the war effort on August 2, 1862 as a bugler, enlisting in the 9th Massachusetts Light Artillery.
Reed’s division was a part of the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1–3, 1863. On the second day of fighting, the Captain of the battery, John Bigelow, was shot and wounded between enemy lines. Under constant fire, Reed led his and another horse into the firing zone where he retrieved his captain, thus saving his life. Over thirty years later, in 1895, Bigelow would recommend Reed to the adjutant general of the United States for a Medal of Honor, which was approved in August, 1895.
After Gettysburg, Reed fought in the Battle of the Wilderness, the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, and the Siege of Petersburg from 1864 to 1865. He sustained a severe wound to his right hand by a saber during the Petersburg siege. In November 1864, Reed was transferred to the staff of Governor K. Warren. Because of his background in art he worked as a topographical engineer.
During the war Reed completed roughly seven hundred sketches, many of which contributed to John David Billing’s work Hard Tack and Coffee, a best selling memoir depicting the life of a Union soldier in the Civil War.
MOH CITATION:
Rescued his wounded captain from between the lines.
BURIAL LOCATION: MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.
ELM AVENUE, LOT 1995.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: MANUSCRIPT DIVISION (CHARLES WELLINGTON REED PAPERS), LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON DC.
