Christian Albert (soldier)

Christian Albert was a Union Army infantryman whose courage during one of the most dangerous assaults of the Vicksburg Campaign earned him the Medal of Honor. He was born on June 13, 1842, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and served in the United States Army as a Private in Company G, 47th Ohio Infantry. His surviving Medal of Honor record does not show a later higher rank, so Private remains both his verified rank at the time of his heroic action and his highest verified rank. Congressional Medal of Honor Society By the spring of 1863, Albert and the 47th Ohio Infantry were operating with Major General William T. Sherman’s XV Army Corps during the campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi. At Vicksburg, the regiment was attached to Brigadier General Hugh Ewing’s 3rd Brigade in Major General Francis P. Blair’s 2nd Division and was commanded by Colonel Augustus C. Parry. The regiment occupied a position in the Union force confronting some of the strongest Confederate fortifications protecting the city. National Park Service Vicksburg held enormous strategic importance because its guns and fortifications dominated a key stretch of the Mississippi River. By capturing the city, the Union hoped to secure control of the river and split the Confederacy geographically. After Union victories in the campaign brought Grant’s army to the outskirts of Vicksburg, Federal troops attempted to capture the city by direct assault before committing to a prolonged siege. The first large attack on May 19, 1863, failed against the Confederate defenses around the Stockade Redan. National Park Service Three days later, Grant ordered another and much larger attack. On the morning of May 22, 1863, Union artillery bombarded the Confederate positions for several hours before Federal infantry advanced across a front roughly three miles wide. Sherman attacked in the northern sector along the Graveyard Road toward the formidable Stockade Redan, while other Union corps assaulted defensive works elsewhere along the line. National Park Service At the head of Sherman’s attack was an exceptionally dangerous volunteer force. The National Park Service records that 150 volunteers moved in front of the main infantry formation carrying wooden planks intended to bridge the defensive ditch and ladders for scaling the Confederate works. Their task required them to approach the fortifications before the main attacking body, making them especially exposed to enemy fire. This volunteer group became remembered as the “Forlorn Hope.” National Park Service Private Christian Albert was one of the soldiers who took part in this volunteer storming party. As the force approached the Stockade Redan, Confederate defenders waited until the Union soldiers had closed much of the distance before opening an intense fire. The attacking volunteers nevertheless continued their effort to reach the fortification and prepare a route for the troops following behind them. The assault ultimately failed to break the Confederate line, but the courage displayed by the men of the storming party later became one of the most heavily decorated episodes of the Vicksburg Campaign. National Park Service Albert’s official Medal of Honor citation is extremely concise, recognizing his gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. The citation does not provide a separate individual narrative describing a unique act performed by Albert within the assault, so his biography should not invent one. What the official record establishes is that his conduct as a member of that storming force was judged sufficiently courageous to merit the United States’ highest military decoration. National Park Service The May 22 attack was unsuccessful, and the Union Army suffered severe losses. After the failure of the frontal assaults, Grant abandoned attempts to storm Vicksburg directly and began formal siege operations. The siege continued until July 4, 1863, when Confederate forces surrendered. Combined with the subsequent fall of Port Hudson, the victory gave the Union effective control of the Mississippi River and represented one of the most important strategic successes of the Civil War. National Park Service The 47th Ohio Infantry’s role at Vicksburg is still preserved within Vicksburg National Military Park. Its monument and assault markers identify the regiment’s positions during the attacks of May 19 and May 22, including a marker near the Stockade Redan associated with the second assault. The unit’s place in the Vicksburg campaign therefore remains physically commemorated on the battlefield where Albert performed the action that eventually brought him national recognition. National Park Service Medal of Honor Christian Albert’s verified military decoration is the Medal of Honor. Albert was serving as a Private, Company G, 47th Ohio Infantry, when he performed his Medal of Honor action at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 22, 1863. His Medal was formally issued on August 10, 1895, more than thirty-two years after the battle. The award was not posthumous; Albert was alive when his wartime gallantry was formally recognized. Congressional Medal of Honor Society The Army Medal of Honor itself originated during the Civil War. The National Park Service notes that the Army began issuing the decoration in 1862 to recognize soldiers who distinguished themselves through conspicuous gallantry and courage in combat. Vicksburg became particularly important in Medal of Honor history: approximately 120 Medals of Honor were associated with actions during the campaign and siege, including 78 members of the Forlorn Hope recognized for the May 22 attempt against the Stockade Redan. National Park Service For the historical ribbon system used in your database, Albert’s decoration is correctly represented as: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army The National Park Service itself identifies the early decoration as the 1862–1895 Army Version of the Medal of Honor, matching Albert’s August 1895 issue date. No clasp, star, or additional device is verified for his Medal. National Park Service Albert lived for many decades after the Civil War and was able to see his wartime service formally recognized during his lifetime. Authoritative Medal of Honor records give his death date as April 16, 1922. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society records his death in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. Because later secondary sources disagree about some details of his final residence and death location, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society record is the safer source for this profile. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Christian Albert’s legacy rests on his willingness to accept an exceptionally dangerous assignment during one of the defining campaigns of the American Civil War. As a Private of Company G, 47th Ohio Infantry, he moved with the volunteer storming party toward the Confederate defenses at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863, knowing that the men leading the assault would be exposed before the main Union infantry could reach the works. Although the attack failed tactically, the courage demonstrated by Albert and the other volunteers became an enduring part of the history of Vicksburg. More than three decades later, Albert received the Medal of Honor on August 10, 1895, formally recognizing the bravery he had shown as an ordinary infantry private in an extraordinary battlefield assignment. His name remains preserved among the Medal of Honor recipients of the Vicksburg Campaign and among the soldiers of the 47th Ohio Infantry whose service helped secure one of the Union’s most consequential victories of the Civil War. National Park Service