James Daniel Gardner

He Rushed Ahead to Face the Officer on the Parapet

James Daniel Gardner was born on September 16, 1839, in Gloucester County, Virginia. Before entering military service, he worked as an oysterman, earning his living in the coastal environment of eastern Virginia. The American Civil War transformed his life, and in 1863 he crossed into Union service at a time when Black soldiers were increasingly being organized into United States Colored Troops regiments.

Gardner enlisted at Yorktown, Virginia, on September 15, 1863. He entered the United States Army as a Private and served in Company I of the 36th United States Colored Troops. The regiment formed part of the growing force of African American soldiers whose service became increasingly important to Union operations during the second half of the war.

By 1864, the 36th U.S. Colored Troops was serving with Union forces operating in Virginia. That September, the Army of the James prepared an offensive north of the James River aimed at threatening Richmond and breaking through the Confederate defensive system protecting the capital. One of the critical objectives was New Market Heights, where Confederate troops occupied fortified positions covering the approaches toward Richmond.

Before dawn on September 29, 1864, United States Colored Troops advanced against the Confederate defenses. The attacking formations faced obstacles, rifle fire, and artillery as they moved toward the earthworks. Early assaults were severely punished, and Black soldiers remained exposed to intense fire before another opportunity to advance developed.

It was during this fighting at Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights that Gardner performed the action that defined his military legacy.

Serving as a Private, Gardner rushed forward in advance of his brigade. Ahead of him, a Confederate officer stood on the parapet attempting to rally his men. Gardner closed on the position, shot the officer, and then struck him with his bayonet. The action placed Gardner directly at the enemy defenses during an assault in which the attacking troops were already facing heavy resistance.

His conduct was extraordinary not because it required later embellishment, but because the documented facts were dramatic enough. Gardner moved beyond the advancing brigade, confronted an officer who was actively rallying Confederate defenders, and continued the attack at extremely close range. His determination became one of the individual acts of courage recognized from a battle that proved historically important for African American soldiers in Union service.

The fighting at New Market Heights demonstrated the combat effectiveness of the United States Colored Troops under some of the most demanding circumstances of the war. The troops advanced against established defensive works and suffered severe losses during the assault. Fourteen Black soldiers who fought there would ultimately receive the Medal of Honor, an extraordinary concentration of the nation’s highest military recognition from a single Civil War engagement.

Gardner’s courage brought immediate recognition within the Army. On September 30, 1864, only one day after the battle, he was promoted from Private to Sergeant because of his gallantry. Major General Benjamin Butler later specifically recognized Gardner’s conduct, describing the assault in which he rushed ahead of his brigade and confronted the Confederate officer on the parapet.

The promotion marked a remarkable change in Gardner’s military standing. He had entered the Army as an enlisted Private only a year earlier. His performance at New Market Heights now placed him among the soldiers formally singled out for exceptional courage during the campaign against Richmond.

Several months later, Gardner received an even greater distinction. On April 6, 1865, he was presented with the Medal of Honor for his actions of September 29, 1864. His official citation preserved the essential sequence of the encounter: he rushed ahead of his brigade, shot the Confederate officer who was rallying soldiers from the parapet, and then attacked him with his bayonet.

The Medal of Honor was still a young military decoration during the Civil War. Gardner became part of a small and historically significant group of African American soldiers whose battlefield courage was recognized with the nation’s highest award. His decoration came only days before the collapse of the Confederacy’s principal army in Virginia and the surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Gardner’s service did not immediately end with the major fighting in Virginia. The 36th U.S. Colored Troops later served in Texas, where Federal forces remained during the unsettled period following the Civil War. Gardner continued with the regiment until he was mustered out at Brazos de Santiago, Texas, on September 20, 1866.

His wartime career therefore extended well beyond the single morning for which he became famous. He had enlisted in 1863, served through major Union operations in Virginia, fought in the assault at New Market Heights, earned promotion for gallantry, received the Medal of Honor, and remained in Army service into the postwar period.

Much less is firmly documented about Gardner’s civilian life than about his military service. What endured most clearly was his connection to the extraordinary battlefield action of September 29, 1864 and to the broader history of African American military service during the Civil War.

Gardner died on September 29, 1905, at Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania—forty-one years to the day after the action for which he received the Medal of Honor. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Ottumwa, Iowa.

His native Gloucester County later honored his memory with a monument recognizing him as a local Medal of Honor recipient. The commemoration helped return attention to a man whose courage had carried him from the life of a Virginia oysterman to a place in American military history.

James Daniel Gardner’s legacy belongs both to his individual act of courage and to the larger story of the United States Colored Troops. On the morning of September 29, 1864, he moved ahead when doing so exposed him to extraordinary danger, reached the Confederate defenses, and confronted an officer attempting to keep those defenses intact.

The Medal of Honor preserved that moment. Gardner entered the battle as a Private in the 36th U.S. Colored Troops, emerged from it with recognition that led to promotion, and became one of the African American soldiers whose valor at New Market Heights challenged prejudice through undeniable performance on the battlefield. His actions remain a lasting part of the history of the United States Army, the Medal of Honor, and the Black soldiers who fought for Union victory during the American Civil War.