b. 19/09/1849 Edinburgh, Scotland. d. 14/06/1919 ?
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 05/06/1864 Piedmont, Virginia.
James Snedden MOH
On February 23, 1864, during the Civil War, he was mustered in the Union Army at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with the rank of Private, in Company E, 54th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He became a Musician, a non-combatant role, in that unit, rising to the rank of Principal Musician. On June 5, 1864, the Union and Confederate armies met at Piedmont, Virginia. Colonel Jacob M. Campbell, commander of the 54th, ordered Snedden to take his musicians to the rear. Having done so, he took a rifle from a wounded comrade, went to the front, joined in the fighting, and captured Colonel Beuhring Jones, commander of the 60th Virginia Infantry . On May 31, 1865, after the end of the War, he was honorably mustered out of the Army.
He subsequently worked for the Union Pacific Railroad and the Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad, and later became a mine owner and operator.
On September 11, 1897, thirty-three years after Piedmont, he was presented with the Medal of Honor.
MOH CITATION:
Left his place in the rear, took the rifle of a disabled soldier, and fought through the remainder of the action.
BURIAL LOCATION: ODDFELLOWS CEMETERY, LEXINGTON, MISSISSIPPI.
J.S.EGGLESTON LOT 228
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
