Benjamin W. Schenck

Benjamin W. Schenck was one of the volunteers who stepped forward for the storming party at Vicksburg, an assault so dangerous that the men were sometimes called a 'forlorn hope.'

Schenck was born on August 12, 1837, in Butler County, Ohio. He served as a private in Company D, 116th Illinois Infantry, and later attained the rank of corporal.

On May 22, 1863, he joined the volunteer storming party sent against the Confederate works at Vicksburg. His gallantry in that assault became the basis for his Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation

Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."

Schenck received the Medal of Honor on August 14, 1894. He died on February 28, 1916, at Danville, Illinois, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery at Decatur.

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