Andrew Henry Embler

Andrew Henry Embler was an American soldier, Civil War officer, Medal of Honor recipient, businessman, and later a senior figure in the Connecticut state military establishment. Born on June 29, 1834, in New York, Embler lived through one of the most turbulent periods in American history and built a career that extended from the opening months of the Civil War to prominent military and civilian service in Connecticut. Surviving records differ on the precise locality of his birth, with Montgomery and New York City both appearing in historical sources, but his New York origins are consistent throughout the record.

Entry into the Civil War

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Embler entered military service almost immediately. On April 19, 1861, he enrolled as a First Lieutenant in Company H, 71st New York State Militia, initially for three months of service. New York State archival records independently identify Andrew H. Embler as a soldier of the 71st New York State Militia.

His first major combat experience came only a few months later at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The battle was the first large-scale clash between Union and Confederate armies. Embler was wounded during the fighting. A New York Adjutant General report specifically records “Lieut. Andrew H. Embler” of Company H as wounded at Bull Run. After the regiment's short term of service ended, he was mustered out with his company.

That wound did not end his military career.

Return to Federal Service and the 82nd New York Infantry

Later in 1861 Embler returned to service, joining the 82nd New York Infantry, also associated historically with the 2nd New York State Militia. He entered the regiment as a First Lieutenant and subsequently advanced to Captain in 1862. New York's official military records record his promotion to captain on June 30, 1862.

The 82nd New York was part of the Army of the Potomac and experienced some of the Civil War's hardest fighting. Its campaigns included operations on the Virginia Peninsula and later the Maryland Campaign. Embler's most important documented action with the regiment came during the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862.

At Antietam, the 82nd New York served in the II Corps. During the violent fighting associated with the advance of Sedgwick's division, Embler was wounded in action for a second time. His later correspondence concerning Antietam is particularly valuable because he personally commented on the position and movement of his regiment on battlefield maps, noting that his own knowledge of the action stopped at the point where he was wounded.

Thus, by late 1862 Embler had already survived wounds in two of the most significant early battles of the war: First Bull Run and Antietam.

Transfer to the 59th New York Infantry

Embler continued serving through the war. Following the reorganization of the 82nd New York, he was transferred into the 59th New York Infantry on July 10, 1864. The official New York Adjutant General roster records him as a Captain transferred from the 82nd Infantry and later mustered out for appointment as an aide-de-camp.

During this period his duties went beyond ordinary company command. Historical military records indicate that he served as an Assistant Commissary at division level and later performed duties as an acting Assistant Adjutant General. These assignments placed him in positions involving coordination and staff responsibility while he continued serving in an active combat formation.

It was with the 59th New York that Embler performed the action that would ultimately make him a recipient of the United States' highest military decoration.

Battle of Boydton Plank Road — October 27, 1864

During the autumn of 1864, Union forces around Petersburg, Virginia, continued attempting to cut the transportation routes supplying Robert E. Lee's Confederate army. One of those routes was the Boydton Plank Road.

On October 27, 1864, Captain Andrew H. Embler participated in the fighting at Boydton Plank Road.

According to the official United States Army Medal of Honor record, Embler was serving as a Captain, Company D, 59th New York Infantry during the action. In the midst of the battle, he moved at the head of two regiments in an assault against the Confederate position. The attacking troops drove back the enemy's main body, reached the crest of the hill near the Burgess house, and forced their way against a barricade on the Boydton road.

This was the defining combat action of Embler's military career.

Rather than simply remaining behind his command, Embler personally placed himself at the front of the advance. His leadership in pushing two regiments forward against the opposing force became the basis for his eventual Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest military decoration for valor. The Army version was authorized during the Civil War on July 12, 1862, and in March 1863 Congress extended eligibility to commissioned officers. Therefore, by the time Embler performed his Boydton Plank Road action in October 1864, commissioned officers such as Embler were eligible for the decoration.

Embler did not receive the Medal immediately after the battle. His heroic action occurred on October 27, 1864, but his Medal of Honor was formally issued on October 19, 1893, almost twenty-nine years later.

The central wording of his official citation records that he:

“Charged at the head of 2 regiments”

and that the attack drove the enemy's main body, gained the crest near the Burgess house, and forced a barricade on the Boydton road.

For the medal rack we researched for Embler, the Medal of Honor is the only recipient-specific medal that can presently be treated as fully verified.

Verified Award: Medal of Honor — no device or clasp

A Civil War Campaign Medal has not been added simply because Embler served during the Civil War. His wartime service may establish historical eligibility conditions, but without sufficiently strong recipient-specific evidence of issuance or entitlement, it should not be represented as one of his confirmed medals.

Final Months of Federal Military Service

Embler's career continued after the Boydton Plank Road action.

He received a brevet promotion to Major associated with his service at Boydton Plank Road. Later, he was mustered out of the 59th New York in March 1865 in connection with his appointment as a Major and aide-de-camp in the U.S. Volunteers, serving on the staff of General John Gibbon. He remained in volunteer service until December 1865.

He was additionally honored with the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers for his wartime service. These brevet ranks were honorary recognitions of military service and must not be confused with separate medals or decorations.

This distinction is important when reconstructing Embler's record:

Rank during Medal of Honor action: Captain Later U.S. Volunteers appointment: Major / Aide-de-Camp Brevet recognition: Major and later Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers

His later Connecticut state military career would eventually take him still higher in rank.

Postwar Life and Business Career

After the Civil War, Embler returned briefly to New York before establishing himself in Connecticut. Historical research places him in Windsor by approximately 1865 and later in Hartford. Like many veterans who returned to civilian life after the war, he built a second career far removed from battlefield service.

One of Embler's most important civilian achievements came through the emerging telephone industry.

In 1878, he became associated with the founding of the District Telephone Company of New Haven, an enterprise that developed into the Southern New England Telephone Company. Embler subsequently spent decades in senior administrative roles within the telephone business.

A 1905 New Haven directory identifies him as Treasurer of the Southern New England Telephone Company, with its office on Court Street. Contemporary material concerning his later retirement also describes his long service as secretary and treasurer of the company.

His postwar life therefore reflected not only military distinction but participation in one of the major technological transformations of nineteenth-century America—the rapid expansion of telephone communication.

Connecticut Military Service

Embler also maintained a strong connection with military affairs after leaving federal volunteer service.

He became involved with Connecticut's organized state military establishment and the Governor's Foot Guard. By the early 1880s he held command responsibilities within the organization. His experience as a veteran officer, businessman, and administrator eventually led to appointment to one of Connecticut's senior military offices.

In 1890, Embler became Adjutant General of Connecticut.

Contemporary Connecticut state documentation identifies him as:

Brigadier General Andrew H. Embler, Adjutant-General

while serving on Governor Morgan Bulkeley's staff. This contemporary evidence is why Brigadier General is the highest rank we are using for his final profile rather than relying on later secondary descriptions that sometimes give him a different grade.

His position as Adjutant General placed him at the center of the administration of Connecticut's military forces decades after his first combat service at Bull Run.

The transformation in his career was considerable: the young First Lieutenant wounded in the opening year of the Civil War had become a senior state military official.

Recognition as a Medal of Honor Recipient

Embler's Medal of Honor was issued in 1893, when he was already an established veteran and public figure.

The award formally recognized the courage he had demonstrated at Boydton Plank Road nearly three decades earlier. His name is preserved both in the official U.S. Army Medal of Honor record and in the National Archives' Congressional Medals of Honor Index, where he appears as:

Embler, Andrew H. — Captain — 59th New York Infantry — Company D.

His Medal of Honor should therefore be understood as recognition of one specific act of battlefield leadership rather than a general service award for his entire Civil War career.

That distinction matters because Embler's overall wartime record was already substantial: he fought at Bull Run, suffered a wound there, returned to service, was wounded again at Antietam, continued into the later stages of the war, served in staff positions, and ultimately led the Boydton Plank Road assault for which the Medal of Honor was granted.

Later Years and Death

Embler remained connected with New Haven and Connecticut during his later years. He had married Maria Elnora Dickerson, and historical biographical records indicate that they raised a large family.

He lived long enough to see the United States enter another enormous conflict—World War I—more than half a century after his own Civil War service.

Andrew Henry Embler died in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 28, 1918, at the age of 84. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven. Cemetery records independently list Andrew H. Embler with the dates 1834–1918.

Legacy

Andrew Henry Embler's life encompassed several distinct forms of service.

He began the Civil War as a First Lieutenant in the 71st New York State Militia, was wounded at First Bull Run, returned to active service, rose to Captain in the 82nd New York Infantry, and was wounded again at Antietam. He later transferred to the 59th New York Infantry, undertook important staff duties, and on October 27, 1864, personally led the advance at Boydton Plank Road that earned him the Medal of Honor. His wartime career continued through appointment as a Major and aide-de-camp and brevet recognition as a Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers.

After the war, Embler successfully transitioned into civilian and state service. He became an important figure in Connecticut's early telephone industry, continued participating in military organizations, and ultimately served as Adjutant General of Connecticut, with contemporary state records identifying him as a Brigadier General.

His most enduring military distinction remained the Medal of Honor, awarded for a single extraordinary moment of leadership at Boydton Plank Road. Yet that action formed only one part of a much longer life of military service, repeated exposure to combat, public responsibility, and civilian leadership.