May 27, 2026
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry tells more inspiring stories of brave African American soldiers and sailors awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
The collage below shows 15 African American soldiers and sailors who received the Medal of Honor for service in the American Civil War, American Indian Wars, and Spanish-American War. These 15 recipients are my subjects for this miniseries. I was able to utilize GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives and other historical repositories to find some history about these men.
In this collage we see, from left to right: (top row) Sergeant Robert A. Pinn, Co. I, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; Sergeant Major Milton M. Holland, Co. C, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; Landsman John Lawson, U.S. Navy; (2nd row) Sergeant John Denny, Co. B, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment; Corporal Isaiah Mays, Co. B, 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment; Sergeant Powhatan Beaty, Co. G, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; Sergeant Brent Woods, Co. B, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment; (3rd row) Sergeant William H. Carney, Co. C, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment; Sergeant Thomas Hawkins, Co. C, 6th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; Private Dennis Bell, Troop H, 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment; Sergeant James H. Harris, Co. B, 38th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; (bottom row) Sergeant Thomas Shaw, Co. K, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment; Sergeant Alexander Kelly, Co. F, 6th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; Private James Daniel Gardiner, Co. I, 36th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment; and Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood, Co. G, 4th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment.
To recap: Part One covered James D. Gardiner and Powhatan Beaty, both shown in the above collage, and another African American recipient of the Medal of Honor not shown in the collage: Corporal Miles James, Company B, 36th U.S. Colored Troops.
My subjects today include three Buffalo Soldiers (U.S. Army regiments created exclusively for Black Americans in 1866) and one soldier from the Union Army.
Dennis Bell
Dennis Bell (1866-1953) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army. He along with three of his fellow comrades, Fitz Lee, William H. Thompkins, and George H. Wanton, were the last black servicemen to be presented the Medal of Honor for more than half a century.
Below is a newspaper clip from the Daytona Beach News-Journal with information on Bell’s service.
Bell was promoted to the rank of corporal before his discharge in December 1903. He died at the Mount Alto Veterans Hospital in Washington, D.C., on 25 September 1953, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.
Thomas Shaw
Sgt. Thomas Shaw (1846-1895) was born into slavery in Covington, Kentucky. When the plantation owner moved Shaw to Pike County, Missouri, he escaped and joined the Union Army. He served with the 67th U.S. Colored Troops in 1864 and remained with the Army after the Civil War.
Shaw served as a sergeant in Company K of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, an iconic group of Buffalo Soldiers. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Carrizo Canyon in New Mexico, on 12 August 1881, during the Apache Wars.
According to the National Park Service, shortly after engaging their Apache foes, the troopers discovered that they were significantly outnumbered by at least two to one. During the fierce fighting that ensued, Shaw wound up in an advanced position trying to defend the company. Despite overwhelming enemy numbers and intense fighting, he stubbornly held his position until the attacking enemy retreated.
The citation for his Medal of Honor, awarded in 1890, reads:
“Forced the enemy back after stubbornly holding his ground in an extremely exposed position and prevented the enemy’s superior numbers from surrounding his command.”
Below is a photo of Shaw with his unit taken at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1889.
From left to right, we see: (standing) Sergeant James Wilson, I Troop; First Sergeant David Badie, B Troop; Sergeant Thomas Shaw, K Troop; First Sergeant Nathan Fletcher, F Troop; (seated) Chief Trumpeter Stephen Taylor; Sergeant Edward McKenzie, I Troop; Sergeant Robert Burley, D Troop; Sergeant Zekiel Sykes, B Troop.
In an article published in the Cincinnati Post, Ted Harris, an author and historian, writes that “Shaw was a participant in a majority of historical events in the West.”
John Denny
During the Indian Campaigns of the late 19th century, John Denny (1846-1901), a Buffalo Soldier with Company C of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, embodied selfless courage and unwavering duty.
On 18 September 1879, at Las Animas Canyon in New Mexico, Sergeant Denny moved through heavy enemy fire to carry Private A. Freeland, a wounded comrade, to safety – placing another soldier’s life above his own. His bravery earned him the Medal of Honor.
Christian Fleetwood
During the Civil War, 25 African Americans received the Medal of Honor, including 14 who were honored for their actions at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm near Richmond, Virginia, in September 1864.
Among them was Christian Fleetwood (1840-1914), a free Black man from Baltimore, Maryland, born to Charles and Anna Marie Fleetwood.
On 6 April 1865, Christian Fleetwood was awarded his country’s highest decoration: the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
“He seized the colors, after two color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight.”
Fleetwood enlisted in the 4th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, and eventually was promoted to the rank of sergeant major.
The regiment saw most of its action in the Richmond-Petersburg campaign, taking part in the Second Battle of Petersburg in June 1864 and the infamous Battle of the Crater one month later in July.
On 29 September 1864, Fleetwood and his regiment fought in the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm on the outskirts of Richmond. The 4th Regiment was ordered to charge the Confederate fortifications, with Fleetwood leading the left flank.
Stay tuned for more on Sergeant Major Fleetwood, including a passage from his diary published in the newspaper, as well as stories about other soldiers.
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Note on the header image: tri-department Medals of Honor display. Credit: U.S. Special Operations Command; Wikimedia Commons.
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