Charles H. Pinkham

Charles Henry Pinkham was an American Civil War veteran, infantryman, Medal of Honor recipient, and later a prominent businessman and public servant in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was born on August 18, 1844, in North Grafton, Massachusetts, the son of James S. and Mary Stratton Pinkham. When he was still very young, his family moved to Worcester, where he received his education in the local public schools and at the Highland Military Academy. Before entering military service, Pinkham worked in his father’s dry-goods business in Worcester, beginning the civilian career that he would later resume after the war. Wikimedia Commons The Civil War changed the direction of his life. In November 1863, Pinkham enlisted in Company H, 57th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was organized during the later stages of the war and became part of the Union Army’s IX Corps. Pinkham advanced rapidly through the enlisted ranks, serving successively as Corporal, Sergeant, First Sergeant, and Sergeant Major. His promotions suggest that his superiors regarded him as a dependable and capable soldier, and by the spring of 1865 he held one of the senior enlisted positions in the regiment. Wikimedia Commons Pinkham’s regiment entered some of the hardest campaigning of the final two years of the war. The 57th Massachusetts served in Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign and fought in major operations including the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the Petersburg Campaign, and the siege operations around Richmond and Petersburg. Pinkham himself was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness, but survived and returned to duty. His continuing service after being wounded eventually carried him into the long and costly siege of Petersburg. Wikimedia Commons By March 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was under enormous pressure around Petersburg. Union forces had gradually extended their siege lines and threatened the remaining Confederate supply routes. Hoping to disrupt Grant’s position and possibly create an opportunity to withdraw, Lee approved a plan developed by Major General John B. Gordon for a surprise attack against Fort Stedman, a Union position east of Petersburg. The Confederate attack began before dawn on March 25, 1865 and initially achieved considerable success, overrunning Fort Stedman and nearby Union positions before Federal troops organized a counterattack. National Park Service It was during this battle that Sergeant Major Charles H. Pinkham performed the action that would eventually earn him the Medal of Honor. Confederate troops had penetrated the Union camp, creating confusion and placing the 57th Massachusetts’ regimental colors in immediate danger. Rather than allow the colors to fall permanently into enemy hands, Pinkham recovered his regiment’s flags by tearing them from their staffs while Confederate soldiers were still inside the camp. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Pinkham then achieved a second remarkable feat. During the Union counterattack, he encountered the colors of the 57th North Carolina Infantry, part of the Confederate force involved in the assault. Pinkham captured the Confederate flag, preserving it as tangible evidence of the reversal of the morning’s attack. His Medal of Honor citation therefore recognizes two connected acts: capturing the colors of the 57th North Carolina Infantry and preventing his own regiment’s colors from being lost to the enemy. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The Battle of Fort Stedman ended as a decisive Union success. Although Gordon’s troops had initially broken through the Federal line, Union counterattacks retook the fort and restored the original positions. The National Park Service describes the battle as the last major offensive of the Army of Northern Virginia. The defeat further weakened Lee’s army, and only a little more than a week later Petersburg and Richmond were abandoned. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. National Park Service Pinkham’s battlefield conduct also led to further military advancement. Historical Massachusetts military records show that he was later commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 57th Massachusetts Infantry. He subsequently received brevet promotions recognizing his gallantry, including advancement to Brevet First Lieutenant and then Brevet Captain, U.S. Volunteers. The brevet recognition specifically referred to his gallant and meritorious conduct in front of Petersburg and particularly to his actions on March 25, 1865, when he captured the Confederate colors. LDS Genealogy For the database, this distinction is important. At the time of his Medal of Honor action, Pinkham was a Sergeant Major. His highest verified rank was Brevet Captain. Therefore, Brevet Captain belongs in the main Rank field, while Sergeant Major should remain recorded as his rank at the heroic action. After the war, Pinkham returned to civilian life. He resumed work in his father’s store in Worcester before beginning a long career in business and federal customs service. In 1869, he was appointed an inspector in the Boston Custom House, where he remained for many years and later served as an appraiser. In 1886 he entered the retail furniture business as a partner in Pinkham & Willis. The following year he left the custom house to devote himself fully to the business. Wikimedia Commons Pinkham later returned to federal service. In 1905, he became Deputy Collector of Customs for the Port of Worcester, remaining in that position until poor health led him to resign in 1914. He also took part in Worcester municipal government, serving in the Common Council and Board of Aldermen between 1890 and 1893. His postwar career therefore extended far beyond military recognition; he became an established businessman, civic figure, and public servant in the community where he had grown up. Wikimedia Commons Medal of Honor The most important decoration associated with Charles Henry Pinkham is the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration of the United States. His verified Medal of Honor details are: Decoration: Medal of Honor Branch: United States Army Rank at Action: Sergeant Major Unit: 57th Massachusetts Infantry Action: Battle of Fort Stedman Action Date: March 25, 1865 Location: Fort Stedman, Virginia Presentation / Issue Date: April 15, 1895 Posthumous: No Congressional Medal of Honor Society Pinkham’s Medal of Honor was awarded approximately thirty years after the battle. The decoration formally recognized his recovery of his own regiment’s colors and his capture of the colors of the 57th North Carolina Infantry. The actions were especially significant in nineteenth-century warfare because regimental flags were not merely ceremonial objects. They served as visible rallying points for soldiers in battle, represented the honor and identity of a regiment, and could become powerful symbols of victory or defeat if captured. Congressional Medal of Honor Society For the historical ribbon system used in your database, the correct version is: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army ✅ Because Pinkham’s Medal was formally issued on April 15, 1895, the 1862–1895 Army version is the correct historical classification. No additional clasp, star, or other device has been verified for his Medal of Honor. Army One caution for the rack: if you also plan to add the Civil War Campaign Medal, Pinkham’s Civil War service clearly falls within the qualifying service period, and unlike some earlier recipients he was still alive when that medal was created in 1907. However, under the client’s rule, qualifying service alone is not enough to prove recipient-specific entitlement. Unless we find a record showing that the medal was actually issued or formally credited to Pinkham, I would keep it HOLD / not yet verified, rather than describe it in the biography as a confirmed personal award. Charles Henry Pinkham lived for more than five decades after the Civil War. His life after military service reflected the same pattern of responsibility seen during the conflict: he became a businessman, federal customs official, and participant in Worcester civic affairs. His Medal of Honor recognition in 1895 ensured that the events of Fort Stedman remained permanently attached to his name. Wikimedia Commons Charles Henry Pinkham died on November 6, 1920. He was buried in Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts, the city that had been central to both his youth and his long postwar career. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society records his burial there and preserves his status as a non-posthumous Medal of Honor recipient. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Pinkham’s historical legacy rests on a combination of battlefield courage and a long life of public service. Beginning as a young enlisted soldier, he rose through the ranks of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry, survived a wound at the Wilderness, and became the regiment’s Sergeant Major. At Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865, during one of the final major Confederate attacks of the Civil War, he protected his own regiment’s colors and captured those of an opposing regiment. He later rose to Brevet Captain, returned to civilian life, built a successful business and government career, and lived to receive the Medal of Honor for the courage he had shown three decades earlier.