Alexander Kelly (April 7, 1840 – June 19, 1907) was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

coal miner and native of Pennsylvania who fought with the Union Army as a member of the

6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment The 6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African American unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War. A part of the United States Colored Troops, the regiment saw action in Virginia as part of the Richmond–Petersburg C ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was awarded his nation's highest military decoration—the U.S.

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

—for his gallantry in the

Battle of Chaffin's Farm A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, Virginia on September 29, 1864.

Formative years

Alexander Kelly was born in

Saltsburg, Pennsylvania Saltsburg is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its location is in Western Pennsylvania, in the southwestern corner of Indiana County near its border with Westmoreland County. The town was based on the construction of sal ...

, on April 7, 1840. According to historian Donald Scott, "Kelly's parentage, service and census data indicate that he was 'mulatto' and with 'light skin,' perhaps indicating mixed ancestry." He "and his siblings were orphaned by 1850, when he was about 10 years old, and lived with an uncle, David Kelly, a 'salt boiler,' and his probable wife Nancy, described n the 1850 federal censusas 'Keeping House'.... The family was part of a small black community, some working as coal miners and 'salt boilers' in Saltsburg, where the Conemaugh River carried salt deposits." Among the siblings living with him at this time was his 16-year-old brother, Joseph. Reportedly reaching a stature of just 5'3" by his early adult years, according to U.S. military records, Alexander Kelly became one of those who found work in the coal mines of

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

Civil War

In August 1863, when his older brother, Joseph, was drafted for military service, Alexander Kelly enlisted instead. After choosing to serve as his brother's substitute, he mustered in with his regiment at Camp William Penn in Philadelphia's Chelton Hills neighborhood. Stationed initially with the 6th USCT

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth ...

and Yorktown, Virginia, he participated with his regiment and other Union troops in the capture of Confederate earthenworks near Petersburg on June 15, 1864. Two months later, they were involved in fortification duties at Dutch Gap on the James River under heavy enemy artillery fire.Scott, "Alexander Kelly: From the coal mines to the front lines]", in "PA Civil War 150". Kelly then went on to earn the rank of

First Sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

in Company F of the 6th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment. On September 29, 1864, as his unit was engaged in the

, Virginia, he prevented the national colors from falling into enemy hands as his regiment was storming an

abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...

of a

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

regiment from Texas, and also then "rallied the th USCTmen at a time of confusion and a place of great danger" — actions which resulted in his being awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor on April 6, 1865. With the war over and Reconstruction efforts underway, Alexander Kelly mustered out on September 20, 1865.

Post-war life

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Kelly returned home to Pennsylvania, married in 1866 and, together with his wife, Victoria, welcomed the birth of William. Residents of Coutlersville, he and his wife also adopted homeless orphans during their more than 30 years of marriage. Employed as a coal miner, he was later joined on the job by his son. After relocating with his wife to the east side of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

sometime during the early 1890s, he was widowed by her in 1898. An aging veteran who was active with the Grand Army of the Republic's Robert G. Shaw Post (No. 206), he then obtained less labor intensive work as the night watchman at the

Pittsburgh Police The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in 1 ...

stables sometime after 1900 while his son worked as a music teacher.

Death and interment

On June 19, 1907, Kelly died in Pittsburgh at age 67. Following funeral services, he was buried in that city's Saint Peters Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation and other honors

First Sergeant Kelly's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Gallantly seized the colors, which had fallen near the enemy's lines of
abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...
, raised them and rallied the men at a time of confusion and in a place of the greatest danger.*

Kelly's courage at New Market Heights is depicted in a painting, ''Three Medals of Honor'' by artist

Don Troiani Don Troiani (born 1949) is an American painter whose work focuses on his native country's military heritage, mostly from the American Revolution, War of 1812 and American Civil War. His highly realistic and historically accurate oil and watercolo ...

. The painting was scheduled to be unveiled June 24, 2013, at the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 a ...

. Also portrayed in the painting are two fellow Medal of Honor recipients from the battle, Nathan H. Edgerton and Thomas R. Hawkins.

References

External links

*
1SGT Alexander Kelly
(memorial, gravesite information, and photo). Salt Lake City, Utah: Find A Grave, retrieved online January 13, 2007. * Claxton, Melvin and Mark Puls,

', (Wiley, 2006) () * Gayley, Alice J. ttp://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/usct/6thusct/6thusctcof.html Company F Roster (transcribed), 6th U.S. Colored Troops Brookville, Pennsylvania: PA-Roots, retrieved online September 12, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Alexander 1840 births 1907 deaths African Americans in the American Civil War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Union army soldiers American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Saltsburg, Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American people American coal miners People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War