Carle Augustus Woodruff

Carle Augustus Woodruff was born in Buffalo, New York, on 8 August 1841. He entered the Union Army and served as a first lieutenant with Horse Battery M, 2nd U.S. Artillery. The surviving sources consulted do not provide a detailed account of his family or education before the war.

On 24 July 1863, near Newby’s Crossroads, Virginia, Woodruff commanded a section of artillery serving as the rear guard of a withdrawing division. When attacked and ordered to abandon the guns, he disregarded the order, helped repel the attack, and saved the guns. The Medal of Honor was presented on 1 September 1893. His qualifying Army service also entitled him to the Civil War Campaign Medal.

Woodruff remained in the Regular Army after the Civil War and rose to brigadier general. He died in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 20 July 1913, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. His present rack also listed the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star, both established after his death, and several later campaign medals for which individual service evidence remains unverified. Those unsupported entries have been removed pending primary-record review.

Sources: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/carle-a-woodruff ; https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/carle-woodruff-hastings-smith-saving-the-guns/ ; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2003-title32-vol3/pdf/CFR-2003-title32-vol3-part578.pdf