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Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Pvt. Morgan D. Lane
Second-Class PVT Morgan D. Lanes military service began with his enlistment Aug. 22, 1862, in Company I, 5th Regiment of Michigan Cavalry, at Allegan, Michigan. In the cavalry he rose to the rank of sergeant. In March 1864, SGT Lane transferred to the Signal Corps and was appointed a second-class private April 1, 1864. His entire service was in the Army of the Potomac, from which he was honorably discharged June 24, 1865.
After November 1864, he served in the 5th Corps, to whose headquarters he was attached in early April 1865 as the orderly of LT P.H. Niles, a Signal Corps officer. During the pursuit of GEN Robert E. Lees army, the event that earned PVT Lane the Medal of Honor occurred. LT Niles description of the event was quoted in the April 20, 1865, report of CPT Charles L. Davis, Chief Signal Officer, Army of the Potomac:
"On the 6th of April, 1865, near Jetersville, Virginia, in company with Captain Benyaurd, U.S. Engineers, and my orderly, Private Lane, and in advance of the army, we pursued and captured 7 rebels, viz, 2 naval officers, 1 engineer, 1 acting signal officer (all of the rebel gunboat Nansemond), and 3 enlisted men. The flag of the gunboat Nansemond was secured from one of these enlisted men by Second-Class Private Morgan D. Lane, U.S. Signal Corps."
In early 1866 PVT Lane sent to Congressman Charles Upson of Michigan a slightly different account of the event. PVT Lane claimed to have captured the Nansemonds commanding officer and the flag that "was on his person." Continuing, PVT Lane said he was given 30 days leave and was promised a "Gold Medal" for his deed.
Congressman Upson forwarded PVT Lanes letter to the War Department, which sought to locate the Nansemonds flag to substantiate PVT Lanes claim that he had captured it. However, the search was in vain. When, in March 1866, the letter reached Chief Signal Officer COL Benjamin F. Fisher, he endorsed it by quoting from CPT Davis report supporting PVT Lanes claim that he had secured the flag but from one of the enlisted men, not from the Nansemonds commander. COL Fishers endorsement was all the evidence the War Department needed. PVT Lanes Medal of Honor was issued March 16, 1866.
The Signal Regiment inducted this Medal of Honor recipient as a Distinguished Member of the Regiment in 1997.
CITATION:
Rank and organization: Private, Signal Corps, U.S. Army. Place and date: Near Jetersville, Va., 6 April 1865. Entered service at: Allegany Mich. Birth: Monroe, N.Y. Date of issue: 16 March 1866. Citation Capture of flag of gunboat Nansemond.
Photo courtesy of Find A Grave
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