John Henry Patterson (soldier)

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John Henry Patterson
February 10, 1843(1843-02-10) – October 5, 1920 (aged 77)
Medal of Honor recipient
Place of birth	New York City
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	11th U.S. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Awards	Medal of Honor

John Henry Patterson (10 February 1843 – 5 October 1920) was a Union soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for courage under fire at the Battle of the Wilderness.

1 Biography
2 Medal of Honor citation
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References

[edit] Biography

Patterson was born in New York City and joined the United States Army there. On 5 May 1864, under heavy fire from Confederate forces, Patterson left cover to rescue a wounded officer, who was in danger of both capture and death, as the forest near where he had fallen had caught fire during the battle. Patterson picked up the officer and carried him several hundred yards to safety.

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization:

First Lieutenant, 11th U.S. Infantry.Place and date: At Wilderness, Va., 5 May 1864. Entered service at: New York. Birth: New York. Date of issue: 23 July 1897.

Citation:

Under the heavy fire of the advancing enemy, picked up and carried several hundred yards to a place of safety a wounded officer of his regiment who was helpless and would otherwise have been burned in the forest.^[1]