Elisha Johns (August 25, 1837 – June 14, 1920) was a
Union Army soldier 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 received the
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 gallantry during the
Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
on May 22, 1863. The surname is sometimes spelled Jones.
Johns joined the 113th Illinois Infantry in August 1862, and was mustered out in June 1865.
Illinois Service Record
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Union assault
On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
ordered an assault by XV Corpson the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...
. The 2nd Division was to lead the assault. The plan called for a diversionary 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 Division Commander, MGEN Blair
Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin.
The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or " field", frequently ...
called for volunteers for the party. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope
A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...
". They were promised sixty days furlough if they survived. Each brigade (there were three) had a quota of two officers and fifty men.
Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. In the 113th Illinois, the five companies had a quota of three man each. In Company B, as JJ Kellogg related in his war memoir:
Finally there was a movement. Old Joe Smith, white headed, rough visaged and grizzled by the storms of a half century, stepped to the front and calling back to his bunkmate said, "Come on, Lish," and Elisha Johns filed out by his side. Then after a brief interval Sergt. James Henry volunteered for the third place. Company B's quota was now complete, and those brave fellows hurried away to take their places in the ranks of the storming party.
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.
Medal of Honor citation
"For gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863."
See also
*List of Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. Recipients must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own ...
* List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G-L
*Siege of Vicksburg
The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...
* 113th Illinois Volunteer Infantry
Notes
References
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External links
Findagrave
Union army soldiers
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
People of Ohio in the American Civil War
People of Illinois in the American Civil War
People of Michigan in the American Civil War
American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
1837 births
1920 deaths
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