Alexander Mitchell Beattie

At Cold Harbor, Alexander Mitchell Beatty risked his life to bring one wounded soldier to safety. The official citation records the rescue in a single sentence; the honour itself took almost thirty years to arrive. His story is also preserved under the family spelling Beattie. [1]

Born in Ryegate, Vermont, on 29 July 1828, Beatty was living in Maidstone when the Civil War began. He entered the 3rd Vermont Infantry as a second lieutenant in Company I in June 1861, became a first lieutenant that November, and advanced to captain of Company F in 1862. The officer who eventually received the Medal of Honor had already spent several years serving with Vermont’s infantry. [1,2]

On 5 June 1864, at Cold Harbor, Virginia, he went under fire to remove a wounded member of his command to safety. The surviving award citation does not name the rescued man or describe the exact route Beatty took. Its central fact is clear: he exposed himself to enemy fire to protect a soldier for whom he was responsible. [1]

Medal of Honor citation: “Removed, under a hot fire, a wounded member of his command to a place of safety.” [1]

Beatty also commanded divisional sharpshooters during the closing part of his service. He mustered out on 27 July 1864, at the expiration of his term. [2]

An 1893 biographical sketch describes his postwar life as a lumber businessman with land in New Hampshire and Vermont, and as a representative from Lancaster in the New Hampshire legislature. His public service thus continued in civilian life. [3]

The Medal of Honor was awarded on 25 April 1894, long after his return to civilian life. He died on 7 March 1907 and was buried in Summer Street Cemetery in Lancaster, New Hampshire. The brief official account of his rescue remains the defining record of his courage. [1]

Sources [1] Congressional Medal of Honor Society: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/alexander-m-beatty [2] Antietam on the Web, citing the Vermont state roster: https://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=1102 [3] New Hampshire Men (1893), p. 156: https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/12165/archive/files/f435b8449f6b339a94388e322c39ef74.pdf