Charles H. Kloth

The Cannon Crew That Took Fire Into Enemy Defenses

Charles H. Kloth was a European-born Union Army soldier who received the United States Medal of Honor for extraordinary bravery during the American Civil War. Serving as a private in the Chicago Mercantile Battery of the Illinois Light Artillery, Kloth distinguished himself during the Union assault on Confederate defenses at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 22, 1863. Working alongside fellow artillerymen, he helped carry a cannon by hand to the enemy's fortifications and fire it through an embrasure in the defensive works. His courageous actions earned him the nation's highest military decoration more than three decades later.

Kloth was born in Europe, although his exact birth date, country of origin, and family background have not been established in the surviving recipient histories. His documented military service connects him to Chicago, Illinois, where he entered the Union Army during the Civil War.

He served as a private in the Chicago Mercantile Battery, an artillery unit organized in Illinois. The battery operated with Union forces during military campaigns in the western theater of the war, where artillery played an important role in supporting infantry attacks and engaging fortified Confederate positions.

Kloth's most significant documented military action occurred during the Vicksburg Campaign, when Union forces under Major General Ulysses S. Grant sought to capture the strategically important Confederate stronghold overlooking the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg occupied a commanding position along the river, making it a major objective for Union military operations. Confederate troops had constructed extensive defensive fortifications around the city, including artillery positions, trenches, and earthworks designed to resist attacking forces.

Following earlier fighting in Mississippi, Grant's army approached Vicksburg and launched assaults against its defenses. On May 22, 1863, Union troops attempted to break through the Confederate lines in a major coordinated attack.

It was during this assault that Private Kloth performed the action for which he would receive the Medal of Honor.

According to his official citation, Kloth worked with other soldiers to carry a cannon by hand toward the Confederate fortifications. The men brought the artillery piece close enough to fire it through an embrasure, an opening in a defensive work through which weapons could be discharged.

Moving a cannon by hand toward an enemy fortification was a hazardous undertaking. Artillery pieces were heavy weapons, and positioning one near a defended opening exposed the men involved to the dangers of close-range combat.

Kloth participated directly in this effort alongside his fellow artillerymen. Their actions placed a Union cannon against the enemy's defensive position during the fighting at Vicksburg.

The official Medal of Honor citation records his achievement:

"Carried with others by hand a cannon up to and fired it through an embrasure of the enemy's works."

The citation establishes Kloth's participation in moving and firing the cannon but does not provide a detailed account of his individual movements, the precise distance the weapon was carried, or the outcome of the artillery fire.

His recognized bravery was part of the Union Army's effort to overcome Confederate fortifications during the May 22 assault. Although the larger attack failed to capture Vicksburg that day, the actions of individual soldiers were later acknowledged through military decorations.

Following the unsuccessful assaults, Union forces continued operations against the city through a prolonged siege. Vicksburg eventually surrendered on July 4, 1863, giving the Union control of an important section of the Mississippi River.

Kloth's documented Medal of Honor action remains associated specifically with the fighting on May 22, rather than with an independently established role in every subsequent stage of the siege.

More than thirty-one years after the engagement, Charles H. Kloth received the Medal of Honor on January 15, 1895. The decoration formally recognized his extraordinary courage as a private in the Chicago Mercantile Battery during the assault against the Confederate works.

The award preserved the record of a soldier who participated in a dangerous artillery operation alongside his comrades during one of the major campaigns of the Civil War.

Beyond his documented service and Medal of Honor action, little reliable information survives concerning Kloth's personal life. His later military assignments, discharge date, civilian occupation, and family circumstances have not been established in the available recipient histories.

His exact date of death and burial location also remain unknown.

Charles H. Kloth's military legacy rests on his bravery during the Battle of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. As a private in the Illinois Light Artillery, he helped move a cannon by hand against Confederate fortifications and participated in firing it through an opening in the enemy's works.

His Medal of Honor, presented in 1895, commemorates this documented act of courage. Although many details of his life remain unknown, Charles H. Kloth holds a lasting place in American Civil War history as a Union artilleryman whose actions at Vicksburg earned him the nation's highest military decoration.