Albert E. Fernald

Albert E. Fernald was born in Maine on 13 May 1838, the son of Elbridge and Mary Blake Fernald. His contemporary obituary places his birth in Hampden and says that his family moved to Winterport when he was a small boy; the Congressional Medal of Honor Society instead lists Winterport as his birthplace. He attended Winterport's public schools and learned the tailoring trade.

During the Civil War, Fernald served in the 20th Maine Infantry. He became a first lieutenant in Company F and also received the honorary brevet rank of captain, dated 30 September 1864. The contemporary Army Register distinguishes this brevet from his substantive first-lieutenant rank and records his discharge on 4 June 1865.

On 1 April 1865, at Five Forks, Virginia, Fernald captured the flag of the 9th Virginia Infantry during a struggle with the enemy. He received the Medal of Honor on 10 May 1865. The official citation reads: "During a rush at the enemy, Lt. Fernald seized, during a scuffle, the flag of the 9th Virginia Infantry (C.S.A.)."

After the war, Fernald worked as a merchant tailor in Winterport, continuing his business until declining health forced him to stop. His obituary records his association with Hannibal Hamlin Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and the participation of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion in his funeral observances. He died at his Winterport home on 3 December 1908, aged 70, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery there.

Sources: Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Albert E. Fernald; Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force, 20th Maine Infantry; The Republican Journal, 10 December 1908, obituary; Maine Historical Society, Maine Memory Network item 81157.