Benjamin Franklin Falls

At Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, Color Sergeant Benjamin Frank Falls captured an enemy flag. Less than a year later he was killed in the Wilderness, never living to receive the Medal of Honor awarded for Gettysburg.

Falls was born on July 1, 1824, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He served as color sergeant in Company A, 19th Massachusetts Infantry.

During the third day at Gettysburg, Falls captured a Confederate flag. The official citation is exceptionally brief, but the act placed him among the many Civil War color bearers whose Medal of Honor actions centered on the struggle for regimental colors.

Medal of Honor Citation

Capture of flag.

Falls was killed on May 12, 1864, in the Wilderness Campaign. The Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously on December 1, 1864. He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn, Massachusetts.

His record is best understood through the documented service, action, and award rather than by filling gaps with unsupported detail.