Edward Welsh (soldier)
Edward Welsh | |
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Born | Ireland | January 3, 1843
Died | February 1, 1929 Washington, DC | (aged 86)
Place of burial | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Washington, DC |
Allegiance | United States of America Union |
Service/ | United States Army Union Army |
Rank | Sergeant |
Unit | Company D, 54th Ohio Volunteer Infantry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War • Siege of Vicksburg |
Awards | Medal of Honor |
Edward Welsh (January 3, 1843 – February 1, 1929) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. His surname is sometimes spelled Welch.
Union assault
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Edward_Welsh_grave_section_8_-_Mt_Olivet_-_Washington_DC_-_2014.jpg/220px-Edward_Welsh_grave_section_8_-_Mt_Olivet_-_Washington_DC_-_2014.jpg)
On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi. 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. 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.
Welsh was married to Katharine Burke Welsh. He died in Washington, D.C., on February 1, 1929.[1] He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
See also
References
- ^ "Obituary." Washington Post. February 2, 1929.
- "Civil War (A-L), Welsh, Edward entry". Medal of Honor recipients. United States Army Center of Military History. August 6, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- "Edward Welsh". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- "Edward Welsh". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- "A Forlorn Hope". Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - "Vicksburg Medal of Honor recipients". Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- 1843 births
- 1929 deaths
- 19th-century Irish people
- Irish soldiers in the United States Army
- Union Army officers
- United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
- People of Ohio in the American Civil War
- Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients
- Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
- Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
- American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
- United States Army personnel stubs
- American Civil War biography stubs