b. 24/10/1840 Cedar Falls, North Carolina. d. 02/12/1910 Los Angeles, California.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 22/05/1863 Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Howell G Trogden MOH
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. Served during the Civil War in the Union Army as a Private in Company B, 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at Vicksburg, Mississippi on May 22, 1863.
He carried his regiment’s flag and tried to borrow a gun to defend it”. He had carried the flag at the head of a “forlorn hope” charge, and planted it on a Confederate parapet, which he defended under intense enemy fire. He was personally cited for his bravery in the report of his Division Commander, Major General Francis Blair. A year before he had been capture by the Confederates near Ripley, Mississippi, and spent some time in a Rebel prison before being paroled. His Medal was awarded to him on August 3, 1894. He was one of ten 8th Missouri soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery during the war (the others being Private John G.K. Ayers, Private Matthew Bickford, Private James S. Cunningham, Private David Johnston, Major Dennis T. Kirby, Private John O’ Dea, Private William Reed, Corporal John F. Wagner, and Private Joseph Wortick). He was the first native North Carolinian to be awarded the Medal of Honor, having been born in Cedar Falls, North Carolina.
MOH CITATION:
Gallantry in the charge of the “volunteer storming party.” He carried his regiment’s flag and tried to borrow a gun to defend it.
BURIAL LOCATION: CALVARY CEMETERY, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
SECTION B, LOT 368, GRAVE 7.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON DC.
