Walter Goodale Morrill

Walter Goodale Morrill

Walter G. Morrill
Born (1840-11-13)November 13, 1840
Williamsburg, Maine, U.S.
Died March 3, 1935(1935-03-03) (aged 94)
Pittsfield, Maine, U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service 1861–1865
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Unit 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars American Civil War
  Second Battle of Rappahannock Station
Awards Medal of Honor

Walter Goodale Morrill (November 13, 1840 – March 3, 1935) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Second Battle of Rappahannock Station.

Morrill was raised in Williamsburg, Maine. In 1861 the age of 20, he enlisted as a sergeant in Company A, 6th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. A year later he was commissioned as an officer in Company B, 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was promoted several times, ultimately to lieutenant colonel. He mustered out on June 4, 1865.[1]

"At Rappahannock Station, Va., November 7, 1863, this officer, then captain in the Twentieth Maine Volunteers, and on duty with skirmishers in advance of the Fifth corps, learning that an assault was to be made on the enemy's fortifications by troops of the Sixth corps, those present called for volunteers from his own command to unite with the storming party. With those volunteers, some fifty in number, he joined the Sixth Maine regiment and charged it. The enemy's works were carried with bayonet, four guns, eight battle-flags, and 1,300 men were captured, and Captain Morrill was specially mentioned in the official reports of the Corps and Division commanders."
- Medal of Honor Citation[2]

References

  1. Historical Data Systems, American Civil War Soldiers (Electronic database at http://www.ancestry.com).
  2. Maine Cavalry (1897). The Maine bugle, Volumes 4-5. Main association.


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