President Bill Clinton awarded this posthumous Medal of Honor to Corporal Andrew Jackson Smith (1843–1932) on January 16, 2001, after Smith’s descendants and an Illinois State University historian petitioned on his behalf. Born into slavery, Smith ran away when the Civil War began and became camp servant to Major John Warner of the 41st Illinois Infantry. In April 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh, Smith retrieved two mounts for Warner, being hit with a spent ball each time—the second lodging itself in his forehead. He was convalescing in Warner’s hometown of Clinton, Illinois, when he heard about the forthcoming Emancipation Proclamation and its call for black volunteers. Wanting to join up quickly, Smith traveled east and enlisted in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry. He served well and, in the words of his Medal of Honor citation, “distinguished himself on 30 November 1864 [at the Battle of Honey Hill] by saving his regimental colors,” showing “extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire.” It was for his service there that Smith was honored.

Christian McWhirter is the Lincoln Historian at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.