b. 28/09/1837 Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. d. 24/09/1907 Norristown, Pennsylvania.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 17/09/1862 Antietam, Maryland.
Hilary Beyer MOH
At age 23 he enlisted in the Union Army soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, being mustered in as a Private in Company A, 19th Pennsylvania (Three-Month) Infantry on May 18, 1861. His unit served through the July 1861 First Bull Run Campaign, and he was honorably mustered out on August 29, 1861. However, the unit re-enlisted nearly en masse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for three years, and was designated the 90th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and Hillary Beyer was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Company H in September 1861. He would go on to be awarded the CMOH for his bravery at the September 17, 1862 Battle of Antietam, Maryland. His citation for the award reads “After his command had been forced to fall back, remained alone on the line of battle, caring for his wounded comrades and carrying one of them to a place of safety.” The soldier he saved, Private James H. Gouldy of the 90th Pennsylvania’s Company A, had lain severely wounded in an artillery swept field, and Lieutenant Beyer braved a hail of cannon and rifle fire from the Confederates to drag him to safety (Private Gouldey would survive the war and live for many years after). His Medal was awarded to him on October 30, 1896, thirty-four years after his deed. He would serve a full three years in the field, even receiving a commission of 1st Lieutenant in November 1862 (however, he was never officially mustered into that rank), received a wound at the May 1864 Battle of the Wilderness, and was honorably mustered out upon the expiration of his enlistment on November 26, 1864 at Fort Dushane, Virginia. He lived in Germantown, Pennsylvania after the war, and was employed as a manager of the Germantown station of the Knickabocker ice Company for twenty five years. He died in Norristown, Pennsylvania just a few days shy of the age of 70.
MOH CITATION:
After his command had been forced to fall back, Second Lieutenant Beyer remained alone on the line of battle, caring for his wounded comrades and carrying one of them to a place of safety.
BURIAL LOCATION: LOWER PROVIDENCE CEMETERY, EAGLEVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.
SECTION 1, ROW 6, LOT 39
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
