b. 15/02/1832 England. d. 22/07/1884 Wilmington, Delaware.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 21/08/1884 Weldon Railroad, Virginia.
John Shilling MOH
Shilling was born in England on 15 February 1832. In 1853, he married Margaret Kirkbride and they had seven children. After her death (date unknown), he married Emma Massey on July 27, 1869, who lived until 1935. They had four children.
Shilling enlisted in Felton, Delaware with H Company of the 3rd Delaware Infantry on 30 December 1861. Shortly after the Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862, Shilling became a first sergeant. On 21 August 1864, in a battle with Confederate General Johnson Hagood’s forces, a Carolinian flag captured by Captain Dennis Daily was retaken by Hagood. Taking advantage of the confusion, Shilling ran forward and captured a South Carolinian flag, an action that won him the Medal of Honor. It is unknown when Shilling was promoted to second lieutenant, but he was promoted to first lieutenant on 2 October 1864.
He died of a brain tumor on 22 July 1884, in Wilmington, Delaware.
MOH CITATION:
Capture of flag.
BURIAL LOCATION: RIVERVIEW CEMETERY, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
