First Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade 

CONFEDERATE ROLL OF HONOR  -  KENTUCKY SOLDIERS

 compiled by Geoffrey R. Walden 

   Although the Confederate Government wished to devise a medal for valor, similar to the United States' Medal of Honor, they were never able to issue a general medal for bravery and good conduct.  In lieu of such an award, the Confederate Congress instituted a "Roll of Honor."  This roll was to list the names of soldiers from each company who were singled out for valor or good conduct displayed during victorious battles.  The names were to be selected by vote of the company members.  A company could also decline to choose a name, and the honor could be awarded posthumously.  The completed Roll was to be published and read in each regiment.  (See the bottom of this page for the complete wording of the General Orders establishing the Roll of Honor, along with listings of the Kentucky unit awardees by battle and regiment.) 

   The Army of Tennessee selected names for two battles: Murfreesboro and Chickamauga.  The following lists are those Kentucky soldiers who were named to the Roll of Honor for these battles (although the 5th Kentucky Infantry later served in the Orphan Brigade, they were not with the Brigade at Chickamauga).  Although the Roll is mentioned in General Orders of August 1864,  very few selections were made in that year, and none of these were in the Army of Tennessee.  ( * denotes posthumous award)

 *   Denotes posthumous award

NOTES 

1.  Board was named to the Roll for both Murfreesboro and Chickamauga; he was mortally wounded during the latter battle. 

2.   Capt. Desha was named to the Roll by his company I, 9th Kentucky Infantry, for Murfreesboro.  In August 1863 this entire company was transferred to the 5th Kentucky Infantry.  Capt. Desha was again named to the Roll by his company (now I of the 5th Kentucky) for Chickamauga (although not serving with the Orphan Brigade in that battle). 

3.  Lindsay was named to the Roll for Murfreesboro, as Color-Corporal of his regiment.  He was again named to the Roll for Chickamauga, as Color-Sergeant.  Along with Nathan Board and Jo Desha, he was one of only seven such double awardees in the Army of Tennessee. 

4.  Pearce was killed in action at Hartsville, Tennessee, on 7 December 1862.  His company obviously thought that Pearce's service at Hartsville was more deserving of recognition than any service at Murfreesboro itself. 

Note that the names as listed here follow the spellings in Thompson's History of the Orphan Brigade and the Adjutant General's Report, and will not necessarily match the spellings found on the published Rolls of Honor (see below). There is some variation in name spellings among all the period sources. Thanks to James Bowen, SCV, for further info.

The Civil War period Roll of Honor should not be confused with the post-war Confederate Medal of Honor bestowed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, although there is naturally some correspondence in the names so honored.  

Orphan Brigade Soldiers Awarded a "Medal of Honor"

Various sources list the following soldiers of the Orphan Brigade as having been awarded a "Medal of Honor" or medal for "gallant and meritorious conduct," even though their names do not appear on the published Rolls of Honor. For example, the Orphan Brigade’s official historian, Capt. E. P. Thompson, wrote that Lt. G. H. Burton of the 4th Kentucky was “awarded medal of honor for gallant and conspicuous conduct” for commanding the Kentucky Brigade sharpshooters during the Atlanta Campaign (1864), even though Confederate records show no Roll of Honor for the Atlanta Campaign.

The sources listing the following soldiers as having been awarded a Medal of Honor include Thompson's History of the Orphan Brigade, the Adjutant Generals' Report, and the 1895 Kentucky Confederate Veterans Association annual (see our Recommended Readings and Bibliography pages for full citations to these sources).

Kentucky Roll and Medal of Honor Photo Gallery

Pvt. Benjamin Batterton Co. G, 2nd Ky. Inf. Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation	Pvt. Nathan B. Board Co. G, 9th Ky. Inf. Stewart Board collection	Lt. George H. Burton Co. F, 4th Ky. Inf. G.R. Walden collection
Corp. John L. Dunn Co. A, 9th Ky. Inf. Marilyn Carothers collection	Sgt. Charles A. Haskell Co. D, 2nd Ky. Inf. Todd Winn collection	Pvt. Marcellus S. Mathews Co. D, 6th Ky. Inf. Fred Wilhite collection
Pvt. Thomas Payne Co. E, 6th Ky. Inf. private collection	Corp. George W. Rogers Co. A, 4th Ky. Inf. Barren County Clerk	Pvt. Samuel South Co. B, 5th Ky. Inf. Ed O'Rear collection
Sgt. Daniel E. Turney Co. G, 2nd Ky. Inf. John Carter Clay collection	Corp. Marnix W. Virden Co. B, 2nd Ky. Inf. Conf. Vet. Assn. of Ky.	Pvt. R. Kidder Woodson Co. C, 2nd Ky. Inf. Conf. Vet. Assn. of Ky.

General Orders Establishing the Roll of Honor

GENERAL ORDERS No. 93.

ADJT. AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Richmond, Va., November 22, 1862.

I.  The following acts of Congress, having been approved by the President, are published for the information of the Army:

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

No. 27.--AN ACT to authorize the grant of medals and badges of distinction as a reward for courage and good conduct on the field of battle.

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to bestow medals, with proper devices, upon such officers of the armies of the Confederate States as shall be conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle, and also to confer a badge of distinction upon one private or non-commissioned officer of each company after every signal victory it shall have assisted to achieve. The non-commissioned officers and privates of the company who may be present on the first dress-parade thereafter, may choose, by a majority of their votes, the soldier best entitled to receive such distinction, whose name shall be communicated to the President by commanding officers of the company; and if the award fall upon a deceased soldier, the badge thus awarded him shall be delivered to his widow, or, if there be no widow, to any relative the President may adjudge entitled to receive it.

Approved October 13, 1862.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

By order:

 S. COOPER,

 Adjutant and Inspector General.

-----

GENERAL ORDERS No. 131.

ADJT. AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Richmond, Va., October 3, 1863.

Difficulties in procuring the medals and badges of distinction having delayed their presentation by the President, as authorized by the act of Congress approved October 13, 1862, to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the armies of the Confederate States conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle, to avoid postponing the grateful recognition of their valor until it can be made in the enduring form provided by that act, it is ordered--

I. That the names of all those who have been, or may hereafter be, reported as worthy of this distinction, be inscribed on a Roll of Honor, to be preserved in the office of the Adjutant and Inspector General for reference in all future time, for those who have deserved well of their country, as having best displayed their courage and devotion on the field of battle.

II. That the Roll of Honor, so far as now made up, be appended to this order and read at the head of every regiment in the service of the Confederate States at the first dress-parade after its receipt, and be published in at least one newspaper in each State.

III. The attention of the officers in charge is directed to General Orders, No. 93, section No. 27, of the series of 1862, Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, for the mode of selecting the non-commissioned officers and privates entitled to this distinction, and its execution is enjoined.

Official Records, Ser. I, Vol. 20, Part 1, p. 972

Roll of Honor, Murfreesboro, 31 December 1862 - 2 January 1863 (extract)

Kentucky
Second Regiment of Infantry:

Color-Corpl. W. H. Robinson, Co. A.

Private R. H. Graves, Co. B.

Private Thomas Clark, Co. C.

Sergt. C. A. Haskell, Co. D.

Sergt. F. M. Chambers, Co. E.

Sergt. W. O. Coppage, Co. F.

Sergt. D. E. Turney, Co. G.

Corpl. E. S. Wright, Co. H.

Sergt. John H. Crane, Co. I.

Sergt. James A. Pearce, Co. K.

Fourth Regiment of Infantry:

Corpl. G. W. Rogers, Co. A.

Sergt. E. L. Johnson, Co. B.

Private John McGuire, Company C.

Color-Corpl. R. H. Lindsey, Co. D.

Sergt. J. S. Whittington, Co. E.

Private Joseph Nichols, Co. F.

Private H. D. Wallace, Co. G.

Sergt. A.M. Hathaway, Co. K.

Companies H and I declined selecting.

Sixth Regiment of Infantry:

First Sergt. J. B. Lewis, Co. C.

Corpl. E. S. Jones, Co. D.

Private Thomas W. Payne, Co. E.

Private James T. Prather, Co. G.

Second Sergt. William Harned, Co. H.

Private J. O. Cushenberry, Co. I.

Companies A and B declined selecting.

Ninth Regiment of Infantry:

Capt. Joseph Desha, Co. I.

Capt. James T. Morehead, Co. G.

Private J. G. Wakefield, Co. A.

Private Jacob Blackshear, Co. B.

Private J. L. Collins, Co. C.

Private Nathan Board, Co. G.

Sergt. William K. Kinman, Co. H.

Sergt. Drakeford Gray, Co. I.

Private H. B Roberts, Co. K.

Company D  declined to select. Companies G and I apparently took the instructions to mean they could pick one officer and one enlisted man.

Official Records, Ser. 1, Vol. 20, Part 1, p. 975.  Spellings of names have been corrected, and notes added, in the listing above.

Roll of Honor, Chickamauga, 19-20 September 1863 (extract)

Kentucky
Second Regiment of Infantry:

Private Benjamin F. Parker, Co. A.

Corpl. Mornix Virden, Co. B.

Private John Conley, Co. C.

Corpl. Frank B. Buckner, Co. D.

Sergt. William Frazee, Co. E.

Sergt. Henry Fritz, Co. F.

Private Louis H. Paradoe, Co. G.

Private Oscar Hackley, Co. I.

Private Frank Taylor, Co. K.

Fourth Regiment of Infantry:  

Lieut. B. T. Smith, Co. A.

Lieut. John L. Bell, Co. K.

Sergt. R. H. Lindsey (color bearer), Co. D.

Corpl. Ephraim R. Smith, Co. A.

Private John McCreery, Co. B.

Private John R. Brinkley, Co. C.

Private Thomas H. Covington, Co. D.

Private William J. Watkins, Co. E.

Private Fielding Skaggs, Co. F.

Private Alexander Smith, Co. G.

Private William N. Ballard, Co. H.

Private John H. Blanchard, Co. I.

Private Mathias Garrett, Co. K.
   Companies A and K apparently took the instructions to mean they could pick one officer and one enlisted man, and Co. D apparently assumed they could pick a private in addition to the color-bearer.  

Fifth Regiment of Infantry (not serving with the Orphan Brigade)

Lieut. Col. George W. Connor.

Adjt. Thomas B. Cook.

Capt. T. J. Henry, Co. C.

Capt. Joseph Desha, Co. I.

Private Frank H. Hasank, Co. A.

Private Samuel South, Co. B.

Private Richard Yarbrough, Co. E.

Sergt. F. W. Campbell, Co. F.

Private Winlock N. Shelton, Co. K.

Company D  declined to select.  

Sixth Regiment of Infantry:

Second Lieut. James H. Cole, Co. G.

Private H. Lowber, Co. A.

Private John Hinton, Co. B.

Private Marcellus S. Mathews, Co. D.

Private Henry Haman, Co. H.

Sergt. F. P. Randle, Co. I.

Companies C and E  declined making selections.

Ninth Regiment of Infantry:

Corpl. John L. Dunn (since dead), Co. A.

Private Norborn G. Gray, Co. B.

Private Andrew J. Kirtley, Co. C.

Corpl. John W. Carrell, Co. D.

Corpl. Nathan Board (since dead), Co. G.

Other selections declined.

Official Records, Ser. I, Vol. 30, Part 2, p. 538. Spellings of names have been corrected, and notes added, in the listing above.

Roll of Honor compilation and notes Copyright © 1989-2003, Geoffrey R. Walden. Compilation first published in "The Adjutant's Call," 1989.

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Geoff Walden: enfield577 (at) live.com
Laura Cook: lcook62 (at) hotmail.com

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