James Monroe Reisinger

Wounded Three Times, He Kept the Colors from Capture

James Monroe “Roe” Reisinger was born on October 28, 1842, in Fallston, Pennsylvania. During his childhood his family moved to Meadville, where he grew up before the American Civil War transformed his life. At nineteen, he entered the United States Army, enlisting on August 20, 1862, as a corporal in Company H of the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry.

The 150th Pennsylvania became part of the Army of the Potomac and was associated with Pennsylvania’s famous Bucktail tradition. Less than a year after Reisinger enlisted, the regiment marched into the Gettysburg Campaign. On July 1, 1863, it occupied ground west of Gettysburg near McPherson’s Ridge, where Union troops confronted advancing Confederate forces during the opening day of the battle.

Reisinger entered the fight as a corporal. During the engagement, the color guard suffered casualties, and he took responsibility for carrying the regimental colors. The flags of a Civil War regiment were more than ceremonial symbols. They served as visible rallying points amid smoke, confusion, and rapidly changing battle lines, and their capture by the enemy was considered a serious loss.

The fighting around the 150th Pennsylvania became increasingly severe. Reisinger was struck in the right foot by a Minié ball, shattering bones and leaving him badly injured. Although urged to leave the line for medical treatment, he remained with his regiment. He continued performing his duty despite the wound.

As the battle continued, he was hit a second time, this time in the back of his right leg above the knee. The shot knocked him down, but with assistance from a fellow soldier he rose again and remained in the fight. His regiment was being forced through an exhausting series of advances and withdrawals as Confederate pressure increased around McPherson’s Ridge.

Reisinger was then struck for a third time, receiving a wound in the right hip. Only after the accumulated effects of his injuries made further movement impossible was he taken to the rear for treatment. His persistence helped prevent the colors entrusted to him from falling into Confederate hands during the collapse of the Union position.

The losses suffered by the 150th Pennsylvania that day were devastating. The regiment entered the battle with roughly four hundred officers and men present for duty, but by evening only a fraction remained assembled. Lieutenant Colonel Henry S. Huidekoper, describing the regiment’s performance, specifically commended Corporal Reisinger for his coolness and courage.

Reisinger’s wounds had lasting consequences. His recovery required extended medical care, and he spent months dealing with the effects of the bullets lodged in his body. A projectile remained in his thigh until it was surgically removed in May 1864. His damaged foot also required significant treatment, and he later recalled that he spent many months on crutches.

Despite the severity of his injuries, his military career continued. He was eventually promoted to sergeant and, because of the physical effects of his wounds, transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. He remained in Union service until his discharge in June 1865.

His connection to the Army did not end with the surrender of the principal Confederate armies. Reisinger subsequently received a commission in the 114th United States Colored Infantry. He served as an officer and ultimately attained the rank of first lieutenant. His later service took him to Texas, where the regiment performed occupation duties during the difficult transition from Civil War to Reconstruction. He remained with the unit until 1867.

After leaving military service, Reisinger returned to Pennsylvania and built a civilian career. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Meadville for a number of years. He also became involved in newspaper work. In 1888 he moved to Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he worked for the Galena-Signal Oil Company in publicity and research.

The extraordinary conduct Reisinger displayed at Gettysburg was not immediately recognized with the nation’s highest military decoration. Decades passed before efforts were made to secure formal recognition. His former military superiors supported his case, but an early recommendation was denied in 1904.

The effort continued, and Congress eventually acted. In January 1907, legislation authorized the award, and Reisinger received the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. His official citation described his performance as “specially brave and meritorious conduct in the face of the enemy.” The brief language represented a day in which he had been wounded repeatedly, remained with his regiment, and continued his duties while helping protect its colors.

The recognition came more than forty-three years after the battle. By then Reisinger was no longer the nineteen-year-old corporal who had entered the Gettysburg Campaign. He was a former first lieutenant, lawyer, businessman, and veteran whose wartime injuries remained part of his life. The Medal of Honor formally preserved the courage that his regiment had recognized much earlier.

Reisinger lived for another eighteen years after receiving the decoration. He remained connected to Pennsylvania and to the generation of Union veterans whose experiences shaped public memory of the Civil War.

James Monroe Reisinger died on May 25, 1925, in Franklin, Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty-two. He was buried in Greendale Cemetery in Meadville.

His military legacy is centered on the first day at Gettysburg. Amid a collapsing battlefield, severe casualties, and repeated wounds, Reisinger continued carrying out his duty with the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was shot three times before his injuries finally forced him from the field, and the regimental colors he helped defend did not become an enemy trophy. More than four decades later, the Medal of Honor confirmed the significance of the courage he had shown on July 1, 1863.