Carlos W. Colby

He Volunteered for Vicksburg's Forlorn Hope

Carlos W. Colby was born on May 15, 1837, in New Hampshire. He became a Union Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient whose bravery during the Siege of Vicksburg earned him national recognition. Serving as a Sergeant in Company G of the 97th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Colby participated in a dangerous volunteer assault against Confederate fortifications on May 22, 1863. His courage during the operation eventually earned him the Medal of Honor, more than thirty-two years after the battle.

Colby spent his early childhood in New Hampshire before moving with his family to Illinois in 1850. They settled on a farm near Alton, where he worked in agriculture during the years preceding the American Civil War.

When the conflict began in April 1861, the United States entered a struggle that would ultimately involve millions of soldiers and reshape the nation's future.

On August 11, 1862, Colby enlisted in Company G of the 97th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He entered military service at the age of twenty-five and was mustered into the regiment at Camp Butler near Springfield, Illinois.

Initially serving as a Second Corporal, Colby began his military career during a period when the Union Army was expanding its operations throughout the Mississippi Valley.

The 97th Illinois Infantry entered federal service in September 1862. After preliminary operations in Kentucky, the regiment moved south and became associated with Union forces preparing for the campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Vicksburg occupied a strategically important position overlooking the Mississippi River. Confederate control of the city restricted Union navigation and maintained an important connection between Confederate territories east and west of the river.

Major General Ulysses S. Grant sought to capture the city and establish Federal control over the Mississippi River.

By the spring of 1863, Union forces had advanced through Mississippi, defeating Confederate troops in several engagements and surrounding Vicksburg.

On May 19, Grant ordered an assault against the Confederate defenses. The attack failed, and Union commanders prepared another attempt to break through the fortified positions.

On May 22, 1863, Federal forces launched a major assault against the Confederate defensive line.

An especially dangerous assignment was given to a volunteer storming party tasked with advancing ahead of the main Union infantry.

Approximately 150 volunteers were selected to approach the Confederate fortifications carrying wooden planks and scaling ladders. Their objective was to help bridge the defensive ditch and provide a means for the attacking troops to climb the fortified earthworks.

The mission exposed the volunteers to intense enemy fire before the main assaulting formations could reach the defenses.

The operation became known as a forlorn hope, a term used for military assignments in which the participants faced an exceptionally high risk of death or injury.

Carlos W. Colby was among the soldiers who volunteered for the assault.

Serving as a Sergeant in Company G of the 97th Illinois Infantry, Colby participated in the advance against the Confederate defenses.

As the storming party approached the fortified position, Confederate troops opened devastating fire.

The attacking soldiers encountered musketry from defenders occupying protected positions above the approach. Despite the danger, members of the volunteer party continued their efforts to reach the earthworks and assist the advancing Union forces.

The assault proved unsuccessful. Confederate resistance prevented the Union Army from capturing the position, and the attacking formations suffered heavy casualties.

The volunteers who survived faced considerable danger while attempting to withdraw from the exposed ground.

Although the attack failed to break the Confederate defenses, the courage demonstrated by the members of the storming party became an important part of the history of the Vicksburg Campaign.

Colby's actions during the assault distinguished him for military recognition.

His official Medal of Honor citation recorded the achievement:

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

The citation recognized his participation in the dangerous advance against the Confederate fortifications on May 22, 1863.

The failed assaults convinced Grant to continue operations against Vicksburg through a prolonged siege rather than additional large-scale frontal attacks.

Union forces tightened their encirclement, restricting Confederate access to food, supplies, and reinforcements.

On July 4, 1863, Vicksburg surrendered to the Union Army, giving Federal forces control of a crucial section of the Mississippi River.

The victory became one of the most significant strategic achievements of the Civil War.

Colby continued serving with the 97th Illinois Infantry after Vicksburg. The regiment moved into operations farther south, participating in campaigns and expeditions across Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida.

His wartime experiences extended beyond the Mississippi campaign, placing him in additional military operations during the final years of the conflict.

On April 9, 1865, Colby was wounded in the leg during the Union assault on Fort Blakely, Alabama.

The battle occurred on the same day that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.

Colby's injury required an extended period of hospitalization. He survived and eventually completed his military service.

On August 18, 1865, Carlos W. Colby was mustered out of the Union Army with the rank of First Sergeant, the highest military rank recorded during his service.

Following his discharge, Colby returned to Illinois and resumed farming near Alton.

In December 1866, he married Anne E. Rowe, the sister of a fellow soldier from his company. Together they established a family and raised eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

Colby continued working as a farmer during the postwar decades. In 1883, he moved to a farm near Buckley, Illinois, where he remained engaged in agricultural life.

More than thirty-two years after his courageous participation in the Vicksburg assault, Colby's wartime service received formal national recognition.

On January 31, 1896, Carlos W. Colby was awarded the Army Medal of Honor for his gallantry at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863.

The decoration specifically honored his participation in the volunteer storming party, recognizing the extraordinary danger faced by the soldiers who advanced against the Confederate fortifications.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War to recognize exceptional bravery in military service. Colby received the decoration during his lifetime, allowing his actions at Vicksburg to be formally acknowledged decades after the conflict.

His award permanently associated his name with the men who volunteered for the hazardous assault against the city's defensive works.

Colby maintained connections with his family and fellow veterans throughout his later years. His surviving wartime correspondence provides a personal record of military life, describing camp conditions, travel, hardships, and his experiences during the campaigns in which he served.

After his wife Anne died in 1899, Colby retired from farming. In 1900, he moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he spent his later years.

Carlos W. Colby died on May 19, 1922, four days after his eighty-fifth birthday. He was buried at Cress Hill Cemetery in Hillsboro, Illinois.

His military legacy remains closely connected with the Siege of Vicksburg and the extraordinary determination of the volunteers who participated in the assault of May 22, 1863.

As a Sergeant in the 97th Illinois Infantry, Colby accepted a dangerous assignment against fortified Confederate positions, survived the assault, and continued serving through the final stages of the Civil War.

His subsequent advancement to First Sergeant and his survival of a serious battlefield wound at Fort Blakely reflected the broader course of his military service.

Carlos W. Colby is remembered as a Union Army soldier whose courage during one of the most hazardous operations of the Vicksburg Campaign earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the honored veterans of the American Civil War.