b. 15/02/1840 Darmstadt, Hesse (now Germany). d. 07/11/1924 Tampa, Florida.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 22/05/1863 Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Rock was born in Darmstadt in the Electorate of Hesse (modern day Hesse, Germany) on 15 February 1840. He emigrated to the United States in 1846, settling in Cleveland, Ohio. Before joining the Army in 1861, he had moved to Canada to farm. He married Mary A. Rock.
Rock enlisted in the Army as a private on 15 August 1861 at Cleveland. He was assigned to Company A of the 37th Ohio Infantry. On 22 May 1863, during the Siege of Vicksburg by Union troops, Rock volunteered, along with 149 other men, to be a part of an extremely dangerous storming mission to build a bridge over a Confederate defensive moat east of Vicksburg. During the course of the assault, nearly 85 percent of the men were wounded or killed. For this action, Rock was awarded the Medal of Honor.After leaving the Army he worked in Cleveland as a laborer and watchman until 1875. He was eventually presented with his Medal of Honor on August 10, 1894.
MOH CITATION:
Gallantry in the charge of the “volunteer storming party.”
BURIAL LOCATION: WOODLAWN CEMETERY, TAMPA, FLORIDA.
BLOCK 18, LOT 5, GRAVE 1.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: BELIEVED TO BE FAMILY.
