George Washington Roosevelt

He Took Their Colors Then Gettysburg Took His Leg

George Washington Roosevelt was born on February 14, 1844, in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He came of age during one of the most turbulent periods in American history, and when the Civil War began in 1861, he entered Union military service while still a teenager. His wartime career would eventually take him from the enlisted ranks to the position of First Sergeant, cost him his left leg, and earn him recognition with the Medal of Honor for extraordinary actions in two separate battles.

Roosevelt joined Company K of the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry early in the Civil War. The regiment formed part of the Army of the Potomac and served in the difficult campaigns of the Eastern Theater. Beginning his service in the enlisted ranks, Roosevelt demonstrated enough ability and reliability to advance through the noncommissioned officer structure, ultimately becoming First Sergeant of his company.

The role of a First Sergeant during the Civil War demanded much more than administrative responsibility. In battle, he helped maintain company organization, discipline, and communication while men maneuvered under fire. Roosevelt's record would ultimately demonstrate that he was willing to expose himself directly to danger when his regiment's colors and the cohesion of his unit were threatened.

His first action later recognized by the Medal of Honor occurred during the Second Battle of Bull Run in Virginia on August 30, 1862. The battle was part of a major Confederate victory that forced Union forces back toward Washington. Amid the confusion and violence of the fighting, the colors associated with Roosevelt's unit were seized by the enemy.

Regimental colors carried enormous importance on a Civil War battlefield. They served as visual rallying points in an era when smoke, noise, terrain, and the movement of thousands of soldiers could make verbal commands difficult to hear. The flag helped troops identify the position of their regiment and maintain formation. Losing the colors to the enemy therefore carried both practical and symbolic consequences.

During the fighting at Bull Run, Roosevelt succeeded in recapturing the colors that had fallen into Confederate hands. This act later became the first half of the official citation for which he would receive the Medal of Honor.

His service continued after Bull Run, and by the summer of 1863 Roosevelt and the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry were marching north as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia invaded Pennsylvania. The movement culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 through July 3, 1863.

Gettysburg became the largest and one of the most consequential battles of the Civil War. Roosevelt entered the battle as First Sergeant of Company K. On July 2, the second day of the engagement, the fighting intensified as Confederate forces attacked the Union left and center in a series of violent assaults.

During this battle Roosevelt again became involved in a struggle centered on military colors. This time he went beyond recovering his own regiment's flag. He captured a Confederate color bearer together with the enemy colors.

Taking an enemy flag in battle was regarded as an exceptional feat. Color bearers were usually surrounded by soldiers responsible for protecting the flag, and the position naturally attracted intense fire because the colors revealed the location of a regiment. To seize such a flag generally required entering extremely dangerous ground at close range.

Roosevelt paid a devastating personal price for his action. During the effort at Gettysburg he was severely wounded. The injuries were so serious that his left leg had to be amputated.

The wound effectively ended the fighting career of a young soldier who had entered the Army as a teenager. He survived, however, and his service was subsequently recognized with a brevet promotion to Captain. A brevet rank was an honorary advancement often awarded during the Civil War for gallant or meritorious service. Roosevelt's highest verified rank is therefore recorded as Brevet Captain, while First Sergeant was the rank associated with his Medal of Honor actions.

He was eventually discharged from active military service after recovering sufficiently from his wounds. Though his combat career had ended, the actions at Bull Run and Gettysburg remained part of his military record for the rest of his life.

The Medal of Honor that would later recognize Roosevelt's conduct had itself been created during the Civil War. Congress authorized the Army Medal of Honor in 1862, providing the United States Army with a national decoration for exceptional military conduct. At the time there was no extensive hierarchy of American valor decorations comparable to the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, or other awards introduced in later generations.

Many Civil War Medal of Honor awards were not issued immediately after the actions involved. In Roosevelt's case, more than two decades passed before the government formally recognized what he had done at Bull Run and Gettysburg.

On July 2, 1887, exactly twenty-four years after his Gettysburg action, George Washington Roosevelt was presented with the Medal of Honor. His official citation recognized both episodes of heroism: at Bull Run he had recaptured colors seized by the enemy, and at Gettysburg he had captured a Confederate color bearer and colors while suffering severe wounds.

For the VictoriaCross.ca database, his decoration is represented as Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1887. The date range identifies the historical Army Medal of Honor era applicable when the award was issued, while 1887 records the year of presentation. No additional clasp, bar, star, oak leaf cluster, or other device has been verified for his single Medal of Honor.

Roosevelt's postwar life developed in a direction very different from his military career. Despite the permanent disability caused by his Gettysburg wounds, he entered government service and eventually built a long career representing the United States abroad.

By the late 1870s he was serving in the American consular service. His assignments took him across several continents and placed him in a succession of important diplomatic and commercial posts.

He served as a U.S. consular representative in Sydney, Australia, before being appointed U.S. Consul at Auckland, New Zealand. From there he continued to Saint Helena, the isolated South Atlantic island historically associated with the final exile of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Roosevelt later served as U.S. Consul at Matanzas, Cuba. His diplomatic career then brought him to Europe, where he received one of the longest assignments of his service at Bordeaux, France.

In 1889 Roosevelt moved to Brussels, Belgium, beginning another lengthy period of diplomatic service. His years abroad demonstrated a remarkable second career for a man whose military service had left him permanently disabled at a very young age.

His diplomatic responsibilities involved representing American interests, assisting citizens, supporting commercial relations, and carrying out the expanding consular duties of the United States during an era when American trade and international engagement were growing rapidly.

Eventually Roosevelt rose to the position of U.S. Consul General in Brussels. The advancement represented the culmination of decades of government service following his Civil War career.

George Washington Roosevelt died in Brussels, Belgium, on April 15, 1907. He had spent much of his postwar life serving the United States overseas. His remains were returned to the United States, and he was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

His Medal of Honor story did not entirely end with his death. Nearly a century later, the decoration became the subject of a federal investigation after it appeared for sale. The medal was recovered and eventually transferred to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, ensuring that the physical decoration connected with his Civil War service was preserved.

Roosevelt's life contains two strikingly different chapters of public service. As a young soldier, he fought with the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry and repeatedly placed himself in danger around the colors that represented the identity and honor of Civil War regiments. At Bull Run he recovered his own side's colors from enemy possession. At Gettysburg he captured an opposing color bearer and flag, suffering wounds that cost him his left leg.

Then, after surviving the war and adapting to permanent disability, he spent decades representing the United States abroad. From Australia and New Zealand to Saint Helena, Cuba, France, and Belgium, the former First Sergeant built an entirely new career in American diplomatic service.

The Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1887 remains the central military recognition of his life. It commemorates not one isolated act but two separate moments of battlefield courage: recovering captured colors at Bull Run and seizing enemy colors at Gettysburg. His military career ended with a devastating wound, but his public service continued for decades, making George Washington Roosevelt's life a story not only of Civil War valor but also of resilience and long service to the United States.