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African American Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Decatur Dorsey
Born: 1836 at Howard County, MD
Died: July 11, 1891 at the age of 55
Civil War (1861 - 1865)
In March 1864 Decatur Dorsey was released by his owner and enrolled in the 39th United States Colored Infantry (USCT) in Baltimore, Maryland. In May he was promoted to corporal and then by July, to sergeant.
Dorsey served as color bearer for the regiment at the battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864. During this action he planted the colors upon the Confederate works in advance of his regiment and when they were driven back he carried the colors to the Union works to rally the men. This was what was written upon the citation for the Medal of Honor he was awarded after this battle.
Dorsey was honorably discharged in December 1865 while in Wilmington, North Carolina. He married soon after that and died in 1891, from the effects of typhoid and rheumatism he had contracted in Wilmington, at the approximate age of fifty-one.
CITATION: DORSEY, DECATUR Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company B, 39th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 30 July 1864. Entered service at: Baltimore County, Md. Birth: Howard County, Md. Date of issue: 8 November 1865. Citation: Planted his colors on the Confederate works in advance of his regiment, and when the regiment was driven back to the Union works he carried the colors there and bravely rallied the men.
See Also BuffaloSoldiers.com
Colored Troops in the Civil War
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