David Dickie

David Dickie was born on July 13, 1841, in Scotland. He later emigrated to the United States and became associated with Illinois, where he entered military service during the American Civil War. His surviving military record places him in Company A of the 97th Illinois Infantry, serving in the United States Army. He held the rank of Sergeant and would become one of the men remembered for one of the most dangerous assaults of the Vicksburg Campaign.

The 97th Illinois Infantry was part of the Union Army forces operating in the Western Theater. By 1863, the regiment was involved in the campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of the Confederacy’s most important strongholds on the Mississippi River. Control of Vicksburg was strategically critical because possession of the city affected movement and supply along the river.

By May 1863, Union forces under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had reached the defenses of Vicksburg. The Confederate positions were heavily fortified, and direct assaults were extremely dangerous. On May 22, Grant ordered another major attack against the Confederate lines.

Before the main assault, a special volunteer force was organized to move ahead of the attacking troops. The men of this group were expected to approach the Confederate works under intense fire, help overcome obstacles in front of the defenses, and create an opening for the larger Union assault that would follow.

David Dickie volunteered for this dangerous assignment. On May 22, 1863, while serving as a Sergeant in Company A, 97th Illinois Infantry, he took part in the charge of the volunteer storming party at Vicksburg.

The mission exposed the volunteers to concentrated Confederate fire as they advanced toward the fortified positions. The men had to cross open ground and approach defenses specifically constructed to stop an attacking force. Dickie continued forward as part of the storming party despite the extreme danger surrounding the assault.

The attack was unable to break the Confederate defenses, and the Union Army eventually abandoned repeated attempts to take Vicksburg by direct assault. Grant instead continued the siege, which ultimately forced the Confederate garrison to surrender on July 4, 1863.

Although the assault of May 22 failed to capture the defenses, the courage displayed by the volunteer storming party became one of the most remembered episodes of the Siege of Vicksburg. Dickie’s participation in the charge was later formally recognized by the United States government.

For his gallantry in the charge of the volunteer storming party on May 22, 1863, David Dickie was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War as the highest military decoration of the United States. The Army Medal of Honor was authorized in 1862, only a short time before Dickie’s action at Vicksburg. During the war and in the years that followed, it became the nation’s principal decoration for soldiers whose courage and conduct in battle were considered exceptional.

Dickie did not receive his Medal of Honor immediately after the battle. His decoration was issued on January 29, 1896, more than three decades after the action for which it was awarded. The delay between the heroic action and the formal issue of the decoration was not unusual among some Civil War recipients whose service was reviewed and recognized years later.

His Medal of Honor citation is brief and direct, recognizing his “Gallantry in the charge of the ‘volunteer storming party.’” Despite the short wording, it represents his participation in an exceptionally hazardous combat mission against the fortified Confederate defenses at Vicksburg.

Within the historical medal classification used for his record, Dickie’s decoration belongs to the Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army category. His award carries no additional clasp, star, bar, or other device.

The Medal of Honor remained the central military distinction of Dickie’s life. His recognition was based specifically on his conduct at Vicksburg rather than simply his participation in the broader campaign.

Dickie continued to be identified with the 97th Illinois Infantry and the Union Army’s Civil War service. His record reflects the experience of thousands of immigrant soldiers who became part of the Union military effort, but his actions at Vicksburg distinguished him from most of his fellow soldiers.

The Vicksburg Campaign itself became one of the decisive campaigns of the American Civil War. The eventual surrender of the city gave the Union effective control of the Mississippi River and divided the Confederacy geographically. Dickie’s Medal of Honor action occurred during the difficult period immediately before the siege became the primary Union strategy.

His service as a Sergeant also carried leadership responsibilities. Noncommissioned officers were essential to maintaining discipline, organization, and control among soldiers during both routine operations and combat. During an assault as dangerous as the storming-party attack, the steadiness of experienced enlisted leaders was particularly important.

After the war, Dickie returned to civilian life in Illinois. He lived for decades after the action at Vicksburg and was still alive when his Medal of Honor was formally issued in 1896.

David Dickie died on August 26, 1904, in Gillespie, Illinois. He was buried in Gillespie Cemetery, the community with which his military service had also been associated.

His legacy is inseparable from the Siege of Vicksburg and the volunteer assault of May 22, 1863. He was not decorated for commanding a large formation or directing a major campaign. His recognition came from personally participating in a dangerous infantry assault against strongly defended enemy positions.

David Dickie is therefore remembered as a Scottish-born Union soldier, a Sergeant of Company A, 97th Illinois Infantry, and a Medal of Honor recipient whose courage during the Vicksburg Campaign earned him a permanent place in the history of the United States Army.