b. 1843 Lautenburg, Prussia. d. 22/01/1897 Piqua, Ohio.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 1862-1863 Shiloh, Tennessee and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
David Orbansky MOH
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. Immigrated to America with his family when he was 15, trained as a cabinetmaker and settled near Columbus, Ohio. Enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and served as a Private in Company B, 58th Ohio Infantry. In 1862 at Shiloh, Tennessee he showed gallantry in action. In the battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1863 he rushed on the battlefield to pick up his wounded commander. In a hail of bullets and cannon fire, he raced back to the Union lines saving the officer’s life. He did not become a American citizen until after the war. He did not receive his Medal of Honor until August 2, 1879. Weakened with chronic heart disease, he still prospered selling clothes and raising a family of 12 until his death. He is one of seventeen Jewish Americans known to have received the Medal of Honor since it’s inception during the Civil War to the present. He was buried as David Urbansky.
MOH CITATION:
Gallantry in actions.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNITED JEWISH CEMETERY, EVANSTON, OHIO.
SECTION 4, LOT 146, GRAVE 3.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
