John H. Starkins

He Saved His Gun and Every Man in the Crew

John H. Starkins was born in 1841 in Great Neck, New York. During the American Civil War, he entered Union service and became an artilleryman in the 34th New York Independent Battery. His military career would ultimately be remembered for a disciplined act of courage during a dangerous withdrawal in Tennessee, where he succeeded in bringing an artillery piece to safety without losing a single member of his crew.

Artillerymen occupied a demanding position on Civil War battlefields. Their guns provided essential firepower, but the weapons were heavy, difficult to maneuver, and especially vulnerable when an army was forced to retreat. A battery that could not withdraw quickly risked losing its guns to the enemy, while crews attempting to save them could be exposed to infantry fire, artillery bombardment, and rapidly advancing opposing troops.

By November 1863, Starkins held the rank of Sergeant in the 34th New York Battery. Union forces in eastern Tennessee were operating around Knoxville while Confederate troops under Lieutenant General James Longstreet attempted to threaten and isolate them.

On November 16, 1863, the two sides fought at Campbell's Station, Tennessee.

The engagement developed as Union forces sought to reach Knoxville ahead of Longstreet's advancing Confederates. Holding the road and delaying the Confederate attack long enough to withdraw successfully was critical. Artillery played an important role in supporting the Union position while the Federal troops gradually fell back toward Knoxville.

For the artillerymen, withdrawal under pressure presented a severe challenge. Cannon had to be limbered, horses brought forward, ammunition and equipment controlled, and the guns moved while enemy forces continued to press the Union line. A single delay could result in a gun being abandoned or captured.

During this fighting, Sergeant John H. Starkins distinguished himself.

His Medal of Honor citation recorded the achievement in remarkably concise language: he brought off his artillery piece without losing a man.

The simplicity of those words conceals the difficulty of the task. Starkins was responsible not only for preserving an important weapon but also for the men serving it. Moving a gun from an endangered battlefield position required coordination, discipline, and leadership while operating under immediate threat.

Starkins succeeded in getting the piece away safely.

Just as importantly, every member of his crew came through the withdrawal.

His action reflected the responsibilities of an experienced artillery noncommissioned officer. A sergeant in a Civil War battery had to understand the operation of the gun, maintain control of the crew, respond quickly to orders, and keep men working together in circumstances where confusion could easily become disastrous.

At Campbell's Station, Starkins demonstrated exactly those qualities.

The Union withdrawal ultimately succeeded, allowing Federal forces to continue toward Knoxville. The battle helped prevent Longstreet from cutting off the Union army before it reached the city. The campaign then shifted toward Knoxville itself, where Confederate forces attempted to force the Union position through siege and assault.

For Starkins, however, November 16 became the defining day of his military record.

He survived the war and continued his life after leaving military service. His service record later reflected advancement beyond the rank he held during the Medal of Honor action, with First Sergeant standing as his highest verified rank.

Recognition for his conduct at Campbell's Station did not come immediately.

More than three decades passed before the United States formally honored the action.

On July 30, 1896, John H. Starkins received the Medal of Honor for what he had accomplished as a Sergeant at Campbell's Station on November 16, 1863.

The award recognized a battlefield achievement based not on the capture of a flag or an assault on an enemy position, but on leadership under pressure. Starkins had preserved his artillery piece during a dangerous withdrawal and had done so without sacrificing any of the men under his immediate responsibility.

No additional clasp, bar, star, or other device accompanied his Medal of Honor.

The timing of the award meant that Starkins received national recognition late in his life. The Civil War had ended more than thirty years earlier, and the battlefield at Campbell's Station had long since passed into history. Yet the action performed there remained part of the official military record and eventually brought him the nation's highest military decoration.

Starkins died on April 4, 1897, in Flushing, New York, less than a year after receiving the Medal of Honor. He was buried at Zion Church Cemetery in Little Neck, New York.

His Medal of Honor citation remains one of those rare military records whose power comes from its brevity.

He brought off his piece without losing a man.

Behind that sentence was the reality of an artillery crew trying to withdraw a heavy weapon while an enemy force pressed forward, and a Sergeant responsible for ensuring that both the gun and the men serving it survived.

John H. Starkins accomplished both.

His legacy is therefore not built around a dramatic charge or the capture of an enemy standard. It rests on disciplined leadership at a moment when retreat could easily have become disaster. At Campbell's Station, he preserved the weapon entrusted to him and brought every man of his crew away alive.

More than thirty years later, that achievement earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place in the history of the 34th New York Battery and the American Civil War.