Benjamin Hilliker

Benjamin F. Hilliker was born on May 23, 1843, in Colden, Erie County, New York. As a young man he became associated with Wisconsin and entered military service from Waupaca Township during the American Civil War. He joined the United States Army and served as a Musician in Company A, 8th Wisconsin Infantry, a regiment that would become one of Wisconsin’s best-known Civil War organizations. U.S. Army The 8th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Randall in Madison and mustered into Federal service in September 1861. Shortly afterward the regiment moved south, beginning a long period of operations in Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The regiment became famous as the unit associated with “Old Abe,” the bald eagle carried with it during the war, earning it a distinctive place in Wisconsin Civil War history. Wisconsin Historical Society Hilliker’s official position was that of a Musician. In Civil War armies, musicians were an important part of military organization. Drums and other instruments transmitted commands, regulated marches, and helped organize troops in camp and on campaign. Although musicians were not normally expected to serve as front-line riflemen, they remained exposed to many of the dangers of campaigning and battle. By 1863, the 8th Wisconsin was operating in Mississippi as part of the Union campaign against Vicksburg. The regiment participated in the fighting around Jackson, the assaults associated with the Vicksburg campaign, and expeditions intended to protect Union positions and disrupt Confederate activity outside the siege lines. The National Park Service records the 8th Wisconsin as engaged at Jackson on May 14, 1863; the Vicksburg assault on May 22; Mechanicsburg on June 4; and Richmond, Louisiana, on June 15. National Park Service It was at Mechanicsburg, Mississippi, on June 4, 1863, that Hilliker performed the act for which he would ultimately receive the Medal of Honor. Union troops encountered a Confederate force during operations north of Vicksburg. Hilliker was still officially serving as a musician, but when additional men were required at the front, he voluntarily abandoned his normal musical duty, took up a rifle, and moved forward to the skirmish line. U.S. Army Hilliker advanced to a position extremely close to the opposing force and joined the fighting as an armed soldier. During the engagement he was struck in the head by a Minié ball. The wound was so severe that those around him believed he was unlikely to survive. Against those expectations, Hilliker recovered, although the injury left permanent physical evidence and serious long-term consequences. His conduct was remarkable because he was not merely carrying out the normal responsibilities of his assigned position: he voluntarily exchanged his drum for a rifle and moved into the most dangerous part of the fight when additional combat manpower was needed. U.S. Army The engagement at Mechanicsburg formed part of the wider struggle surrounding Vicksburg. National Park Service records identify the 8th Wisconsin among the Union forces participating in the June 4 engagement and place the action within the series of expeditions from the Vicksburg area toward Mechanicsburg and Satartia. The broader Vicksburg campaign eventually resulted in the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, giving the Union control of one of the most strategically important Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. National Park Service Hilliker survived the war, but the effects of his wartime injury remained significant. Decades afterward, congressional records concerning his military pension described progressively serious disability and efforts to increase the pension provided to him. His case demonstrates that surviving a battlefield wound did not necessarily mean full recovery; for many Civil War veterans, the physical consequences continued throughout later life. GovInfo Recognition for Hilliker’s act of courage came many years after the Civil War. On December 17, 1897, he was formally awarded the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Mechanicsburg. His official Army citation identifies him as Musician, Company A, 8th Wisconsin Infantry and specifically recognizes his decision to lay aside his drum, take up a rifle, advance to the skirmish line, and fight despite the extreme danger. U.S. Army The date of the award is important for his ribbon representation. Although the heroic action occurred in 1863, the Medal of Honor was presented in 1897. For the historical ribbon system being used in this profile, that places Hilliker’s decoration in the Medal of Honor 1896–1903 Army period. No additional V device is required: the Medal of Honor is itself a decoration specifically recognizing extraordinary valor. U.S. Army Hilliker’s military service also falls squarely within the recognized eligibility period of the Army Civil War Campaign Medal. The Army established that campaign medal in 1907 for military service between April 15, 1861 and April 9, 1865—with an extended date for qualifying service in Texas. Hilliker’s service with the 8th Wisconsin Infantry and his documented combat at Mechanicsburg in 1863 therefore place his Civil War service within the qualifying period represented by the Civil War Campaign Medal 1862–1895 Army entry used in the project database. HRC Army Benjamin F. Hilliker lived for many decades after the war. He died on October 18, 1916, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of seventy-three. His Medal of Honor record preserves the story of a soldier whose formal role was that of a musician but who, at a critical moment, voluntarily stepped into the firing line as a combatant. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Hilliker’s historical significance rests on that transformation during the action at Mechanicsburg. He was not ordered forward as an infantry rifleman by virtue of his normal assignment. When the battlefield situation demanded more men, he chose to exchange the instrument of a military musician for a rifle and fight alongside the soldiers at the front. He suffered a devastating wound in doing so, survived, and carried the consequences for the rest of his life. More than three decades later, the United States formally recognized that action with the nation’s highest military decoration.