Elijah A. Briggs

Captured a battle flag at Petersburg

Elijah A. Briggs was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, on 26 October 1843. During the American Civil War he served in Company B, 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery.

As a corporal, Briggs captured a battle flag at Petersburg, Virginia, on 3 April 1865. That act earned him the Medal of Honor. The official citation records the flag capture in four words.

Briggs received the medal on 10 May 1865, and his award was accredited to Salisbury. He later reached the rank of sergeant.

He died in Beacon, New York, on 10 March 1922 and is buried in Fishkill Rural Cemetery in nearby Fishkill. His Medal of Honor preserves the record of a Connecticut artilleryman's flag capture during the closing stage of the Civil War.

Medal of Honor citation

Capture of battle flag.