Edmund Rice

When Pickett’s Charge crashed against the Union line at Gettysburg, Major Edmund Rice moved toward the danger. His counterattack helped close a critical gap, but it left him severely wounded inside enemy lines. That moment of courage became the defining chapter in an extraordinary military career that stretched from the American Civil War to Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Edmund Rice was born in Brighton, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1842. After attending Norwich University, he entered military service as a young officer in 1861 and soon joined the 19th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Rice fought through some of the Civil War’s most punishing battles, including Ball’s Bluff, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. He was wounded at Antietam and again during the final day at Gettysburg.

On July 3, 1863, Rice led elements of the 19th Massachusetts and 42nd New York in a countercharge against Pickett’s advancing troops. His official Medal of Honor citation reads:

“Conspicuous bravery on the third day of the battle on the countercharge against Pickett's division where he fell severely wounded within the enemy's lines.”

The Medal of Honor was presented to Rice on October 6, 1891.

But Gettysburg was not the end of his story.

Rice remained in uniform after the Civil War and received a commission in the Regular Army in 1866. He served during Reconstruction, took part in operations on the western frontier and held military assignments abroad. His experience eventually led to appointments as a military envoy and as the United States military attaché in Tokyo.

When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Rice returned to field command. He served on Major General Nelson A. Miles’s staff before taking command of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during operations in Puerto Rico. He later commanded the 26th United States Volunteer Infantry in the Philippine-American War and served as military governor of Panay until 1901. These assignments placed him at the center of three major periods of American military history.

Rice’s reconstructed ribbon rack reflects that remarkable journey through the Medal of Honor, Civil War Campaign Medal, Indian Campaign Medal, Spanish Campaign Medal, Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal and Philippine Campaign Medal. Unlike the Medal of Honor, the campaign medals did not carry individual valor citations. They recognized qualifying service in specific wars, campaigns and territories. Several were created after Rice’s death, so the complete rack represents his retrospective historical entitlement rather than the exact ribbons he personally wore during his lifetime.

Edmund Rice retired from the United States Army as a brigadier general in 1903. He died on July 20, 1906, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Few American officers could claim a career that began amid the battle lines of the Civil War and ended after command service in the Philippines. His legacy rests not only on the Medal of Honor, but on more than four decades of leadership, sacrifice and service.