Archibald H. Rowand Jr.

Archibald H. Rowand Jr. earned the Medal of Honor not in a famous charge but by carrying information through Confederate lines. During the winter of 1864 to 1865, he was one of two men who got vital dispatches through to General Ulysses S. Grant.

Archibald H. Rowand Jr. was born March 6, 1845, in Philadelphia. During the period relevant to his Medal of Honor, he served as Private with Company K, 1st West Virginia Cavalry.

On winter of 1864 to 1865, at through Confederate lines from Columbia, Virginia toward City Point, he performed the action that led to the award. The surviving record fixes the core event clearly and allows the account to be told without adding unsupported detail.

Medal of Honor Citation

One of two men who succeeded in carrying dispatches through enemy lines to General Grant.

The Medal of Honor was presented March 3, 1873. He died December 14, 1913, in Pittsburgh. He was buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.

His record is strongest when kept close to the documented action: the unit, place, date, and conduct for which the Medal of Honor was awarded.