Ernst von Vegesack

Ernst Mathias Peter von Vegesack was born in Sweden in 1820 and entered Swedish military service before the American Civil War. He volunteered for Union service in the United States and served as an aide-de-camp, later returning to Sweden. His birth and death details and American service are documented in Medal of Honor references, while the exact Swedish career chronology should be checked against Swedish archival biographies.

At Gaines’s Mill, Virginia, on June 27, 1862, he charged a position under fire while serving as an aide-de-camp. The U.S. Army’s Medal of Honor index identifies his action rank as major and the medal issue date as August 23, 1893. He later attained senior rank in Sweden.

Von Vegesack died in Stockholm on January 12, 1903. The export lists the Medal of Honor, the Swedish bravery medal För tapperhet i fält, and the Royal Order of the Sword. The latter two are not removed or expanded here because primary award documentation and the precise grade have not yet been matched to the catalogue entries.

Medal of Honor citation summary: charged a position under fire while serving as aide-de-camp.

Sources: https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/citations1.html ; https://collection.nationalmuseum.se/en/artists/artist/16618/ ; https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/