John Creed

He Seized an Enemy Flag at Fisher’s Hill

John Creed was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and later immigrated to the United States. When the American Civil War began, he entered Union service and joined Company D of the 23rd Illinois Infantry, a regiment composed largely of Irish-American soldiers and widely known as the Irish Brigade of the West.

Creed served as a private during the campaigns that carried his regiment through some of the hardest fighting of the war. By 1864, Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley were engaged in a series of operations intended to break Confederate resistance and secure the strategically important region.

On September 22, 1864, Creed took part in the Battle of Fisher’s Hill in Virginia. Union forces launched a coordinated attack against strongly positioned Confederate troops, eventually breaking through their defenses and forcing a retreat. During the fighting, Creed distinguished himself by capturing an enemy flag.

Regimental colors were among the most important symbols carried onto a Civil War battlefield. They marked a unit’s position, helped soldiers maintain formation amid smoke and confusion, and served as a powerful source of identity and morale. Capturing an opposing flag required a soldier to approach one of the most fiercely defended points in an enemy formation, often at considerable personal risk.

Creed’s successful capture of Confederate colors at Fisher’s Hill brought immediate recognition. Less than two weeks after the battle, on October 6, 1864, he was presented with the Medal of Honor for his action. His official recognition was concise but unmistakable: he had captured the enemy flag during the battle.

Creed continued serving after Fisher’s Hill and later advanced to the rank of corporal. His regiment remained in active operations through the closing stages of the Civil War, and Creed’s service did not end without further danger. In 1865, during the final campaigns against Confederate forces around Petersburg, Virginia, he was seriously wounded.

After the war, Creed returned to civilian life. Although his later years were comparatively brief, the action he had performed at Fisher’s Hill remained the defining achievement of his military career.

John Creed died on November 28, 1872. He had survived the Civil War but died only a few years after its conclusion.

His legacy rests on the events of September 22, 1864, when, as a private in the 23rd Illinois Infantry, he advanced amid the fighting at Fisher’s Hill and captured an enemy flag. That act of battlefield courage earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the soldiers recognized for extraordinary valor during the American Civil War.