Cyrus B. Lower

Cyrus B. Lower was a Union Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient whose Civil War service was marked by repeated wounds, determination to return to duty, and continued service despite severe hardship. Born on February 28, 1843, in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, Lower grew up in western Pennsylvania during the years immediately preceding the American Civil War. When the conflict began, he was still a young man, but he soon entered military service and became part of the Union war effort. Lower’s military career began with service in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment became one of the notable Union units operating in western Virginia and later included several men who would become nationally prominent. Lower served as an enlisted soldier and experienced combat during the early years of the war. During this first period of service, Lower participated in operations in western Virginia and the Maryland Campaign. He was seriously wounded by a rifle ball that passed through his hand and wrist. The injury required medical treatment and a period of recovery, and his condition eventually resulted in his discharge from that period of service. The wound did not end Lower’s determination to serve. After recovering, he returned to military duty and enlisted again in Pennsylvania. In October 1863, he joined Company K of the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, a famous regiment commonly known as the “Bucktails.” The unit was also associated with the designation 42nd Pennsylvania Infantry and had already developed a strong battlefield reputation. Lower entered the regiment as a Private. This rank is especially important for his historical profile because authoritative Medal of Honor records identify him as a Private at the time of his heroic action, and no higher later rank has been sufficiently verified for the main database entry. By the spring of 1864, the Army of the Potomac was beginning Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Unlike earlier campaigns that often ended with the Union army withdrawing after a major battle, Grant intended to maintain continuous pressure on Lee and move progressively toward Richmond. The first great confrontation of this campaign was the Battle of the Wilderness, fought from May 5 through May 7, 1864, in a heavily wooded region of Virginia. Dense undergrowth, narrow roads, smoke, and limited visibility made the fighting especially confusing and dangerous. Large formations often struggled to maintain direction, and soldiers frequently fought at extremely close range. Private Cyrus B. Lower entered this battle with Company K of the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves. On May 7, 1864, he was wounded during the fighting. His injury could reasonably have removed him from active combat duty, yet Lower demonstrated the determination that would later become the basis of his Medal of Honor. Rather than remain separated from his comrades after being wounded, Lower voluntarily returned to his command. His official Medal of Honor citation emphasized his “gallant services and soldierly qualities” in rejoining his unit despite his wound. The wording is short, but it reflects the significance the Army placed on his decision to return voluntarily to duty under conditions that could have justified remaining behind for treatment. The importance of this action must be understood within the circumstances of Civil War combat. A wounded soldier returning to his unit faced not only the physical effects of his injury but also exhaustion, limited medical care, difficult movement through battlefield terrain, and the continuing danger of enemy fire. Lower’s return demonstrated both personal endurance and a strong commitment to his comrades and unit. The Battle of the Wilderness did not produce a clear tactical victory, but strategically it marked an important change in Union operations. Instead of withdrawing northward after the battle, Grant moved the Army of the Potomac south toward Spotsylvania Court House. This signaled that the campaign would continue and that Lee’s army would remain under constant pressure. Lower remained connected with the continuing campaign. His regiment moved through some of the most demanding operations of the Overland Campaign, including the fighting around Spotsylvania, the North Anna River, and the approaches toward Cold Harbor and Bethesda Church. Lower’s wartime experience became even more difficult when he was later captured by Confederate forces. Historical accounts of his service describe him being transported south as a prisoner and escaping while being moved toward Confederate imprisonment. He subsequently succeeded in reaching Union-controlled territory. This episode, although separate from the precise wording of his Medal of Honor citation, further illustrates the extraordinary difficulties he experienced during his Civil War service. As Pennsylvania Reserve units were reorganized, Lower was subsequently associated with the 190th Pennsylvania Infantry. He continued serving through the final period of the war and remained in Union service until June 1865, after the principal Confederate armies had surrendered. Lower was mustered out in June 1865 at Arlington Heights, Virginia. By then he had experienced multiple enlistments, battlefield wounds, the Wilderness Campaign, capture, escape, and the closing operations of the Civil War. Years after the conflict, the United States formally recognized the bravery Lower had demonstrated in 1864. On July 20, 1887, Cyrus B. Lower was presented with the Medal of Honor for his conduct during the Battle of the Wilderness on May 7, 1864. His verified award record is centered on the following facts: Decoration: Medal of Honor Historical Version: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army Branch: United States Army Rank at Action: Private Unit: Company K, 13th Pennsylvania Reserves Action Date: May 7, 1864 Action Location: Wilderness Campaign, Virginia Presentation Date: July 20, 1887 Posthumous: No Lower’s Medal of Honor belongs to the original nineteenth-century Army period of the decoration. The Army Medal of Honor had been authorized during the Civil War in 1862, following the earlier establishment of the naval Medal of Honor. It became the highest American military recognition for extraordinary bravery and distinguished conduct. Civil War Medal of Honor awards were often presented differently from modern awards. Many recipients were recognized years or even decades after the battles in which their actions occurred. Lower’s case is an example of this pattern: more than twenty-three years separated his action in the Wilderness from the formal presentation of his Medal of Honor in 1887. For the historical ribbon system used in this project, the correct representation is therefore: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army No additional clasp, star, or other device is verified for Lower’s Medal of Honor. His final verified medal rack therefore contains the Medal of Honor alone. After leaving the Army, Lower returned to civilian life in Pennsylvania. He became involved in business and local employment and was associated with the operation of a nursery. He also served for a period as superintendent of Greenwood Cemetery in his home region. Lower later moved to Washington, D.C., where he established a new chapter of his civilian career. He eventually entered government service with the United States Department of Agriculture. His employment there became a substantial part of his postwar life, demonstrating that his public service continued long after he left the Army. Lower also developed an interest in writing. In 1899, he published a volume titled We Rode with Little Phil and Other Poems. The title reflected the continuing importance of Civil War memory to veterans of his generation and preserved aspects of the military experiences and culture that had shaped their lives. Like many Civil War veterans, Lower remained part of a generation that carried the memory of the conflict into the twentieth century. By the time he reached old age, the weapons, tactics, organization, and society of the United States military had changed dramatically from the conditions he had experienced as a young Private in the 1860s. His Medal of Honor ensured that his actions during the Wilderness Campaign remained permanently preserved in the national military record. The decoration did not recognize a dramatic capture of an enemy flag or a famous command decision. Instead, it recognized something more personal: the determination of a wounded soldier to return voluntarily to his command. That distinction makes Lower’s story particularly compelling. His heroism centered on endurance, discipline, and loyalty to his unit. Even after suffering a battlefield wound, he chose to rejoin the men with whom he served rather than remain safely behind the lines. Cyrus B. Lower died on May 21, 1924, in Washington, D.C., at the age of eighty-one. He had lived almost sixty years beyond the Civil War and more than three decades after receiving the Medal of Honor. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. His grave is located in Section 17, and Arlington continues to recognize him among the Civil War Medal of Honor recipients buried in the national cemetery. Cyrus B. Lower’s life represents more than one moment of bravery. His military story began with early Union service, included serious battlefield wounds, a return to the Army, service with the famous Pennsylvania Bucktails, the brutal Wilderness Campaign, capture and escape, and continued duty through the final year of the Civil War. His civilian life was similarly long and productive, including work in Pennsylvania, federal service in Washington, and literary activity. Yet the defining moment of his legacy remained May 7, 1864, when, as a wounded Private of Company K, 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, he voluntarily returned to his command during the Wilderness Campaign. For that act of determination and soldierly courage, the United States awarded Cyrus B. Lower the Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army on July 20, 1887. The decoration remains the central symbol of a military career remembered not for rank or command, but for the persistence and courage of a wounded soldier who refused to abandon his comrades.