Southeast Indiana’s Early Heroes: The Civil War’s Medal of Honor Soldiers

As the U.S. marks its 250th birthday, communities across the country are looking back at the people who shaped the nation’s story.

Civil War Medal of Honor. Photo by Cheryl Damon-Greiner.

As the United States marks its 250th birthday in 2026, communities across the country are looking back at the people who shaped the nation’s story.

Here in Southeast Indiana, that story includes farmers, shopkeepers, immigrants, and young men barely out of their teens who answered the call during the Civil War. Thirteen of them, scattered across Dearborn, Ripley, Ohio, Switzerland, Jefferson, Jennings, Decatur, and Franklin counties, earned the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, awarded for valor. Other Hoosiers have also been awarded the Medal of Honor in later conflicts, but this story is about the ancestors who fought to keep our nation whole.

Their names are not famous. Their faces rarely appear in textbooks. But as America pauses to reflect on 250 years of struggle, sacrifice, and progress, these Southeast Indiana soldiers remind us that the nation’s history is built largely by ordinary people who rose in extraordinary moments.

One of those moments came in Mississippi, on May 22, 1863, during the Siege of Vicksburg. General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a massive assault on the Confederate fortifications. To break the defenses, he called for volunteers to lead a storming party that would build bridges, place ladders, and draw enemy fire. The mission was so dangerous it was known as “Forlorn Hope.” Only unmarried men were allowed to volunteer because the odds of survival were so low.

From Southeast Indiana, they stepped forward in surprising numbers. Thomas A. Blasdel, born in Dearborn County, was one of them. Serving with the 83rd Indiana Infantry, he advanced under withering fire, helping clear the way for the main attack. His citation speaks simply of “gallantry,” but the truth is that Blasdel and his fellow volunteers faced a wall of musketry that cut down men by the dozens. From Switzerland County came Clinton L. Armstrong of Vevay, another member of the 83rd Indiana. From Ohio County came William W. Chisman, born in Rising Sun. From Franklin County came William Campbell, born near Brookville. All four earned the Medal of Honor for the same action, on the same day: “Gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party."

But nowhere was the impact felt more deeply than in Ripley County. Six men connected to the county earned the Medal of Honor—five of them for the storming party at Vicksburg.

Joseph Frantz, who entered service at Osgood, was an immigrant from France who made Ripley County his home. Jacob H. Overturf, a farm boy from Holton, volunteered without hesitation. Reuben Smalley, who enlisted from the small community of Poston, advanced across open ground swept by Confederate fire. William Steinmetz and Frank Stolz, both from Sunman, served side by side in Company G of the 83rd Indiana and both earned the medal for their actions that day.

Their citations are nearly identical. Each was recognized for “Gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party.” But behind those simple words lie stories of courage that Ripley County has every right to remember.

The sixth Ripley County recipient, Orville T. Chamberlain, earned his medal at Chickamauga, Georgia, not Vicksburg. An officer in the 74th Indiana Infantry, Chamberlain seized the regimental colors during heavy fighting and led a countercharge that helped stabilize the Union line. His bravery was noted by his men and later by the nation.

Together, these six men give Ripley County one of the state’s highest totals of Civil War Medal of Honor recipients—a distinction few rural communities can claim.

Other Southeast Indiana counties also produced remarkable soldiers whose stories deserve to be remembered during this 250th anniversary year.

In Jefferson County, Charles W. Brouse, a captain in the 100th Indiana Infantry, led his company up Missionary Ridge despite being severely wounded. He refused evacuation until his men secured their position.

Jennings County contributed John Wesley Conaway, born in Vernon Township. Though he later moved to Illinois, his Indiana roots remained strong. He volunteered for the storming party at Vicksburg, too.

Decatur County’s connection comes through Abram J. Buckles, whose family lived in the county before moving west. Buckles fought with the famed Iron Brigade, one of the most storied units in the Union Army. At Gainesville, Virginia, he rallied his men despite being wounded.

Together with the Vicksburg volunteers from Dearborn, Switzerland, Ohio, Ripley and Franklin counties, these men form a remarkable roster of bravery. What ties these thirteen men together isn’t just geography. It’s the character of Southeast Indiana in the 1860s—rural communities where duty was expected, where neighbors enlisted together, and where courage was measured not in speeches but in action. Most of these men returned home quietly. Some moved west. A few lived long enough to see their medals recognized decades later. But all carried with them the memory of a moment when they stepped forward so the next ones could follow.

As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, their stories remind us that the nation’s strength has always come from people like them. Ordinary citizens who, when history demanded it, did something extraordinary. Southeast Indiana has always produced strong people. These thirteen showed their remarkable strength while they fought to keep their country, our country, together as one united nation.

Historic note: The siege at Vicksburg, Mississippi lasted from May 18 to July 4, 1863. This battle opened the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy and freed tens of thousands of enslaved people. The total casualties in the Vicksburg campaign were approximately 37,532, including 4,835 Union and 32,697 Confederate soldiers.