Nestled in the Siskiyou National Forest, upriver from Gold Beach, Oregon lies the tiny community of Agness. There, in a private plot located on the family homestead, rest the remains of Nathan Edgerton, a veteran of the Civil War. Edgerton was a white infantry officer and the adjutant of the 6th U.S. Colored Infantry. In the early morning of September 29, 1864 his regiment advanced against the Confederate line at the Battle of New Market Heights in Virginia. 

The Rebs held their fire until the Black soldiers were within 150 yards then unleashed a deadly volley of lead. One Union flag bearer was shot down, then another, then a third. Lt. Edgerton, despite being wounded himself, lifted up the flag and advanced it with his regiment until the Confederates retreated. For his conspicuous act of bravery, Nathan Huntley Edgerton was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Mr. Edgerton later moved to Oregon where he died October 27, 1932 at the age of 93, on his Agness farm.

In the first year of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the presentation of medals of honor for soldiers and sailors who "distinguished themselves by their gallantry in action." Thus the Congressional Medal of Honor was born. Of the millions of men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces since the Medal of Honor’s creation, only 3,442 have received the nation’s highest honor. 

The Civil War, America’s bloodiest conflict, resulted in the greatest number of Medal of Honor citations, including the only woman ever to be so honored: Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. The Medals bestowed for Civil War heroism account for nearly forty-five percent of all the Medals of Honor ever awarded. When the war ended, thousand of veterans, both North and South headed west. It is estimated that twenty thousand Civil War veterans are buried in Oregon. Four Medal of Honor recipients, including Edgerton, lie at rest in the Beaver State.

Two Portland cemeteries have Civil War heroes buried within their boundaries. Hartwell Compson rests in the G.A.R. Cemetery located in southwest Portland near Lewis & Clark College while Alaric Chapin reposes in the Rose City Cemetery in northeast Portland. 

Teenager Chapin was a private in Company G of the 142nd New York Volunteer Infantry when his regiment attacked at the head of the Union column against enemy fortifications at Fort Fisher, North Carolina on January 15, 1865. Although just 17 years old, Pvt. Chapin voluntarily advanced at the head of his regiment, and despite heavy hostile fire, he gallantly cut down the enemy palisading, allowing his comrades to breech the fortifications and achieve victory. 

After the war Chapin farmed, worked as a teamster, and raised a family. Chapin died in Portland on November 27, 1924. Even at age 17, Chapin is far from the youngest Medal of Honor recipient. That distinction goes to Civil War drummer boy Willie Johnston who was just 11 years old when he earned the Medal for gallantry in the Seven Days campaign.

Major Hartwell Compson was the commanding officer of the 8th New York Cavalry Regiment on March 2, 1865 when he led his troops into battle at Waynesboro, Virginia. During fierce hand-to-hand combat, Compson personally captured the headquarters flag of Confederate general Jubal Early. For this action he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Unlike many of the men whose bravery was not recognized for decades, Compson received his medal within a month of the battle. After the war, Compson moved to Oregon where he became Brigadier General of the Oregon National Guard. Following his death in 1905, Compson faded from memory. His grave went unmarked for 100 years until Civil War history buffs obtained a proper headstone from the federal government.

At the corner of 18th and University Streets, on the University of Oregon campus, you will find the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery. Founded in 1872 the cemetery contains the graves of 145 Civil War veterans including the only Medal of Honor recipient buried in Eugene: Louis Renninger. On May 22, 1863, Renninger was one of 150 Union soldiers who volunteered to lead an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The plan was for the volunteer storming party 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 a "forlorn hope" in nineteenth century vernacular. 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 and it was a failure. 

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 under the command of General Grant, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, two-thirds were killed. Corporal Louis Renninger of Company H, 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was one of the survivors and for his gallantry, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1894. Heading to Oregon after the war, Renninger and his wife Elizabeth had a family farm in the Mohawk district of Lane County. He died in 1908.

These four heroes rest in peace under the green grass of Oregon. Time has passed and the memory of their gallantry has faded. There are no Civil War veterans left to tell the story of what they did, we must do it for them. They deserve to be remembered.

Randy Fletcher holds a degree in history from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the author of several articles on Oregon history. He lives in Eugene.

© 2007 Randy Fletcher