Bernard McCarren

The Flag Capture That Defied Pickett's Charge

Bernard McCarren was born in Ireland around 1831 and later immigrated to the United States, making his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He became a Union Army soldier whose courage during the Battle of Gettysburg earned him the Medal of Honor. On July 3, 1863, while serving with Company C of the 1st Delaware Volunteer Infantry, McCarren captured a Confederate battle flag during the desperate fighting that followed Pickett's Charge, one of the most famous assaults of the American Civil War.

Before entering military service, McCarren established his life in Wilmington. In 1855, he married Mary Ann Traynor, with whom he had two children. His civilian life changed when the Civil War began in April 1861, prompting thousands of volunteers to join the Union Army.

McCarren initially enlisted in Company H of the 24th Pennsylvania Infantry, a short-term volunteer regiment that included many Irish-American soldiers. His company was associated with Captain Thomas Alfred Smyth, who would later become an important commander in the Army of the Potomac.

When his initial enlistment ended, McCarren joined Company C of the 1st Delaware Volunteer Infantry. He entered the regiment under Captain George Price and was promoted to corporal in September 1861.

The 1st Delaware Infantry served in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War, participating in major operations as Union forces attempted to defeat the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

McCarren's military career placed him within a regiment that endured some of the war's most difficult campaigns. The 1st Delaware participated in the fighting at Chantilly in September 1862 and subsequently served during the Maryland Campaign, including the Battle of Antietam.

At Antietam on September 17, 1862, the regiment fought as part of the Union effort to stop General Robert E. Lee's invasion of Maryland. The battle resulted in enormous casualties and became a decisive moment in the conflict.

The regiment later participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, where Union forces suffered severe losses while attacking Confederate defensive positions.

By the summer of 1863, the Army of the Potomac was moving north to confront Lee's second invasion of Union territory.

The opposing armies met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1863. Over three days, the battle developed into one of the largest and most consequential engagements of the Civil War.

The 1st Delaware Infantry served with the Union II Corps, positioned along Cemetery Ridge near the center of the Federal defensive line.

On July 3, Confederate commanders launched a massive infantry assault against the Union center. The attack, known as Pickett's Charge, sent thousands of Confederate soldiers across open fields toward Union artillery and infantry positions.

The advancing Confederate formations faced intense artillery and musket fire. Despite severe casualties, portions of the attacking force reached the Union defensive line, where fighting became particularly fierce.

The 1st Delaware Infantry helped defend this critical position.

As Confederate troops approached, the Delaware soldiers opened fire and resisted the assault. During the fighting, Union infantrymen moved forward against the retreating Confederate formations.

It was in this desperate engagement that Bernard McCarren performed the action for which he would receive the Medal of Honor.

During a Union counterattack, McCarren captured a Confederate battle flag.

Regimental colors were important symbols of identity and honor during the Civil War. They also served as rallying points, allowing soldiers to identify their formations amid the confusion of battle.

Capturing an enemy flag was therefore considered a significant military achievement. Such actions frequently occurred under intense fire, particularly when opposing forces came into close contact.

McCarren's capture took place during the repulse of one of the Confederacy's most determined assaults.

His official Medal of Honor citation described the achievement in three words: "Capture of flag."

Although brief, the citation recognized an act of battlefield courage that distinguished him during a crucial moment of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Union victory forced Lee's army to withdraw from Pennsylvania and ended the Confederate invasion of the North.

McCarren continued his military service after Gettysburg.

In December 1863, he completed a period of service and reenlisted in the Union Army. He subsequently returned to active operations as the conflict entered another demanding phase.

In the spring of 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant launched the Overland Campaign against Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

On May 6, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia, McCarren suffered a serious wound.

A musket ball struck his left shoulder, and he required extensive medical treatment. The injury kept him hospitalized for several months.

Despite the severity of the wound, McCarren survived and remained connected to military service during the final year of the war.

His courage at Gettysburg received formal national recognition on December 1, 1864, when he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The decoration honored his capture of a Confederate battle flag on July 3, 1863, while serving with Company C of the 1st Delaware Infantry.

McCarren received the Medal of Honor during his lifetime, approximately seventeen months after his heroic action.

The award secured his place among the Union soldiers whose individual bravery at Gettysburg received the nation's highest military recognition.

His military service concluded on July 22, 1865, when he was mustered out following the Union victory and the end of the Civil War.

McCarren returned to Wilmington, Delaware, where he resumed civilian life with his family.

His years after the war were relatively brief. The effects of military service and the hardships of the Civil War formed an important part of his life, although surviving accounts provide limited information about his later civilian activities.

Bernard McCarren died on June 20, 1870, in Wilmington, Delaware. His death was attributed to dysentery. He was approximately thirty-nine years old.

He was buried in Wilmington, where his name remained associated with the city's Civil War history. Delaware's historical records identify him among the Medal of Honor recipients buried at the city's Old Cathedral Cemetery.

McCarren's military service has also been commemorated through the history of the 1st Delaware Infantry and the memorials honoring the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg.

His legacy is especially connected to the events of July 3, 1863, when Union infantrymen resisted Pickett's Charge and helped prevent Confederate forces from breaking the Federal center.

As a member of the 1st Delaware Infantry, McCarren captured an enemy battle flag during the fighting, an act that earned him the Medal of Honor.

Although he died only five years after the Civil War, his courage remains part of the documented history of the Union victory at Gettysburg.

Bernard McCarren is remembered as an Irish-born American soldier whose bravery during one of the Civil War's most decisive battles earned him the nation's highest military decoration for valor.