Clinton Albert Cilley

Gallantry at Chickamauga Earned the Medal of Honor

Clinton Albert Cilley (February 16, 1837 – May 9, 1900) was an American soldier, Union Army officer, Medal of Honor recipient, lawyer, judge, and civic leader whose distinguished career extended from the American Civil War into the Reconstruction era. Beginning his military service as a private in the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, he rose through the commissioned ranks to Major and received the honorary rank of Brevet Colonel. His exceptional courage during the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20, 1863, earned him the Medal of Honor more than three decades later.

Cilley was born in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, to Reverend Daniel Plummer Cilley and Adelaide Ayres Haines. He grew up in a well-educated New England family with connections to military service and public affairs. His ancestors included Revolutionary War officers, and his upbringing emphasized education, civic responsibility, and public service. He attended Boston Latin School, where he received recognition for academic achievement, before continuing his education at Harvard College as a member of the Class of 1859.

Following his studies at Harvard, Cilley moved west to Minnesota, where he became involved in education in the community of Wasioja, Dodge County. He worked at the local Free Will Baptist seminary and established relationships with students and residents who would later participate in the Union war effort. When the American Civil War began in April 1861, Cilley supported the Union cause and joined other volunteers from Wasioja in military service.

In June 1861, Cilley enlisted in Company C of the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry as a private. His early military assignments included service near Fort Abercrombie in Dakota Territory. Demonstrating leadership ability, he advanced through the enlisted ranks to Sergeant and Sergeant Major before receiving a commission as Second Lieutenant on December 4, 1861.

Cilley participated in the Battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky in January 1862, an important early Union victory in the western theater. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on April 16, 1862, and Captain on July 10, 1862. During the following campaigns, he performed infantry and staff duties, including service as a topographical engineer and acting assistant adjutant general with formations of the XIV Army Corps.

His wartime service included operations associated with Corinth, Mississippi; Perryville, Kentucky; Hoover's Gap and Tullahoma, Tennessee; and Chattanooga. These assignments exposed him to the changing demands of military leadership, from direct battlefield responsibility to the planning and coordination of larger Union formations.

On September 20, 1863, Cilley distinguished himself during the Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. The two-day engagement between Union forces under Major General William S. Rosecrans and Confederate troops commanded by General Braxton Bragg became one of the most costly battles of the American Civil War.

During the second day of fighting, Confederate attacks broke through portions of the Union line, forcing many Federal soldiers into retreat. Other Union formations, including troops under Major General George H. Thomas, continued resisting repeated Confederate assaults. The 2nd Minnesota Infantry participated in the desperate defense that helped prevent the retreat from becoming a complete disaster.

In the confusion and danger of the battle, Captain Cilley demonstrated extraordinary initiative when he seized the regimental colors of a retreating Union formation and carried them forward, leading its soldiers back into the fighting. At a time when regimental flags served as essential rallying points on the battlefield, his action helped restore direction and fighting spirit among troops under pressure. His conduct became the defining act of bravery for which he would later receive the nation's highest military decoration.

Cilley continued serving after Chickamauga. On July 15, 1864, he was appointed Captain and Assistant Adjutant General of United States Volunteers. Assigned to the staff of Major General John M. Schofield, he participated in the Atlanta Campaign and subsequent operations, including the battles of Jonesborough, Franklin, and Nashville.

His later wartime assignments brought him to North Carolina, where Union operations included Fort Fisher, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and Salisbury. On March 21, 1865, he was promoted to Major and Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers. He also received brevet appointments as Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, dated March 13, 1865, in recognition of his military service. Brevet Colonel became his highest recorded rank, although Major remained his highest substantive rank.

As the war ended and the United States entered Reconstruction, Cilley's responsibilities shifted from military operations toward civil administration. He served in western North Carolina with the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau. As superintendent of the Bureau's Western District, based in Salisbury, he supervised a large administrative area encompassing approximately fifty-one counties.

His responsibilities included matters involving formerly enslaved people, labor arrangements, legal protections, and the difficult transition from slavery to freedom. Contemporary accounts described his administration favorably, and surviving correspondence documents his involvement in the Bureau's operations during 1866. His military service formally concluded when he was honorably mustered out on September 1, 1866.

Unlike many northern officers who returned home after the Civil War, Cilley remained in North Carolina. He established a legal career in Lenoir and became involved in local government, education, and public affairs. His willingness to work with residents whose political backgrounds differed from his own helped him develop a respected position in the community during the difficult postwar decades.

Cilley became a prominent attorney, served as a judge, and was elected as one of Lenoir's early mayors. He supported educational development and participated in initiatives intended to strengthen the economic and civic life of western North Carolina. His activities demonstrated an enduring commitment to public service beyond his military career.

He married Emma Harper, daughter of James C. Harper, who served in both the North Carolina legislature and the United States House of Representatives. Clinton and Emma Cilley had five children: Albert Harper, John Harper Plummer, Gordon Harper, James Lenoir, and Katharine Adelaide Cilley, who died in infancy.

Although Cilley developed a successful civilian career, his wartime experiences left lasting physical consequences. In later years, he experienced serious health difficulties that affected his mobility. Nevertheless, he remained active in public discussion and became known for his speeches and contributions to regional newspapers, including the Charlotte Observer.

His service at Chickamauga received formal national recognition on June 12, 1895, when he was awarded the United States Army Medal of Honor. The official citation recognized his actions in seizing the colors of a retreating regiment and leading it back into the attack. The award acknowledged the courage he had displayed as a Captain more than thirty years earlier.

Cilley also maintained an interest in American military heritage. In 1890, he joined the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, reflecting his family's connections to the Revolutionary generation and his continuing commitment to historical remembrance.

Clinton Albert Cilley died on May 9, 1900, at the age of sixty-three. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Hickory, North Carolina, where his grave remains associated with his service as a Union officer and Medal of Honor recipient.

His legacy encompasses more than his decorated military career. From his early work as an educator and volunteer soldier to his leadership at Chickamauga, service as a senior staff officer, administration of Reconstruction programs, and subsequent contributions to law and civic government, Cilley's life reflected a sustained dedication to military and public service. His actions on September 20, 1863, secured his place among the Medal of Honor recipients of the American Civil War, while his later career demonstrated the influence that Union veterans continued to exercise in American society after the conflict.