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David Ayres (soldier)

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For other people with similar names, see David Ayres (disambiguation).

David Ayres
Civil War era Medal of Honor
Other name(s)David Ayers
Born(1841-04-29)April 29, 1841
Kalida, Ohio, US
DiedDecember 11, 1916(1916-12-11) (aged 75)
Chicago, Illinois, US
Place of burial
Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago
AllegianceUnited States of America
Union
Service / branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861–1865
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitOhio 57th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company A
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War
 • Siege of Vicksburg
AwardsMedal of Honor

David Ayres (April 4, 1841 – December 11, 1916) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg[1] on May 22, 1863. His last name was spelled as Ayers on his enlistment and maintains the spelling on his medal.[2][3]

Union assault

Ayres' grave at Oak Woods Cemetery

On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi.[4] The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. The assault began in the early morning following a naval bombardment.[4] The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were killed. Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor citation

For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863[1].

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b War Department (1880).
  2. ^ CMOHS (2014).
  3. ^ VCOnline (2020).
  4. ^ a b Dyer (1908), p. 428.

References

  • Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
  • War Department, U.S. (1880). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
  • "AYERS, DAVID". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  • "David Ayers". THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE VICTORIA & GEORGE CROSS. VCOnline. 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.


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