Joseph Hanks

He Entered Enemy Fire to Save a Wounded Soldier

He entered enemy fire to save a wounded soldier, risking his own life on a battlefield where Union and Confederate troops were locked in a deadly struggle. On May 22, 1863, during the fierce Union assault against Vicksburg, Mississippi, Private Joseph Hanks of the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry demonstrated extraordinary courage. When a wounded comrade lay helpless between the opposing lines, Hanks voluntarily advanced under hostile fire, brought the injured soldier water, and carried him away from danger. His remarkable act of compassion and bravery eventually earned him the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration for valor.

Joseph Hanks was born on March 22, 1843, in Chillicothe, Ohio. He grew up during a period of increasing political and social division in the United States, as disputes over slavery and the future of the Union intensified. By the time the American Civil War began in April 1861, Hanks was eighteen years old. The outbreak of hostilities transformed the lives of thousands of young Americans, including those from Ohio, which became one of the Union's principal sources of volunteer soldiers.

Hanks entered the Union Army and served as a Private in Company E of the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Organized in 1861 under Colonel Edward Siber, the regiment became known for its substantial German-American membership. Its soldiers were assigned to campaigns that carried them from the mountainous regions of western Virginia to the strategically important Mississippi River Valley.

The 37th Ohio initially served in the Kanawha Valley of western Virginia, where Union forces sought to secure important territory and transportation routes. The regiment participated in operations amid difficult terrain and shifting military conditions. These early assignments formed part of the wider Union effort to maintain control of western Virginia and prevent Confederate forces from threatening strategically valuable areas.

By early 1863, the regiment had joined Union operations against Vicksburg, Mississippi. The fortified city occupied a commanding position overlooking the Mississippi River, one of the most important transportation and commercial waterways in North America. Confederate control of Vicksburg allowed Southern forces to threaten Union shipping and maintain connections between Confederate territories east and west of the river.

Major General Ulysses S. Grant recognized that capturing Vicksburg would be essential to securing the Mississippi River and weakening the Confederacy. During the spring of 1863, he conducted an extensive military campaign intended to isolate the city and defeat the Confederate forces defending it.

After crossing the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg, Grant's army advanced inland, winning important victories at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, and the Big Black River Bridge. These successes forced Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's army to withdraw behind the formidable fortifications protecting Vicksburg.

The Confederate defensive system consisted of extensive earthworks, artillery batteries, fortified positions, and difficult approaches. Deep ravines, steep slopes, and natural obstacles made attacking the defenses especially dangerous. Union soldiers faced the prospect of advancing across exposed ground while Confederate troops fired from protected positions.

Grant initially attempted to capture the city through direct military assaults rather than a prolonged siege. The first major attack on May 19, 1863, failed to penetrate the Confederate defenses. After further preparations, Grant ordered another general assault for May 22.

On the morning of May 22, Union artillery bombarded the Confederate fortifications before infantry formations advanced along a broad front. Thousands of Federal soldiers attempted to overcome the earthworks and break into the defended city. The assault encountered determined resistance, with Confederate infantry and artillery inflicting severe casualties upon the advancing troops.

The 37th Ohio Infantry participated in the fighting as part of the Union forces operating against Vicksburg. Several members of the regiment distinguished themselves during the day's dangerous operations. Among them was Private Joseph Hanks, whose courage took the form of an extraordinary rescue rather than an attack upon an enemy position.

During the fighting, Hanks observed a wounded fellow soldier lying between the Union and Confederate lines. The injured man was exposed to enemy fire and unable to reach safety without assistance. The ground separating the opposing forces was exceptionally dangerous, as soldiers attempting to cross it risked being struck by bullets from the Confederate defenses.

Recognizing his comrade's desperate situation, Hanks voluntarily left a safer position and moved into the exposed area. He understood that approaching the wounded man would place him directly in danger, yet he continued despite the hostile fire.

Reaching his fallen comrade, Hanks provided him with water, offering immediate relief to a soldier suffering on the battlefield. He then undertook the more difficult task of removing the wounded man from the dangerous position.

With enemy fire continuing around them, Hanks brought the injured soldier off the battlefield and away from the exposed ground between the opposing lines. His determination transformed an act of individual courage into an extraordinary example of battlefield compassion.

The official Medal of Honor citation records that Hanks voluntarily went under fire to rescue a wounded comrade lying between the lines, gave him water, and brought him off the field. Although the citation does not identify the wounded soldier or describe every detail of the rescue, it clearly establishes the exceptional bravery required to complete the mission.

Hanks's actions demonstrated a different but equally important form of military heroism. While many battlefield decorations recognized soldiers for capturing enemy positions, defending their units, or carrying regimental colors under fire, his achievement centered upon protecting the life of another soldier.

The May 22 assault ultimately failed to capture Vicksburg. Confederate defenses remained intact, and Union forces suffered more than 3,000 casualties during the unsuccessful attacks. The heavy losses convinced Grant that further direct assaults would likely prove too costly.

Grant subsequently turned to siege operations, surrounding Vicksburg and gradually cutting off its supplies and communications. Union troops constructed trenches and artillery positions while Confederate defenders struggled with increasingly severe shortages.

The siege continued until July 4, 1863, when Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant. The victory gave Union forces control of a crucial section of the Mississippi River and significantly weakened the Confederate war effort.

The surrender of Vicksburg, combined with the Union victory at Gettysburg during the same period, became one of the most important turning points of the American Civil War. The fall of the fortified city also contributed to the eventual opening of the Mississippi River to Union navigation, dividing the Confederacy and strengthening Federal military operations.

The 37th Ohio Infantry continued serving in the Union Army after the Vicksburg Campaign, participating as a regiment in later operations around Chattanooga, Atlanta, and the Carolinas. Its military history reflected the demanding experiences of Union infantry formations operating across several theaters of the war. The surviving biographical accounts of Hanks, however, do not establish his individual participation in every subsequent engagement of the regiment.

Although Hanks's bravery occurred in May 1863, formal national recognition came more than three decades later. On November 19, 1897, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary rescue during the assault on Vicksburg.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War to recognize exceptional military courage and distinguished service. Over time, it became the nation's highest decoration for valor. Hanks's award acknowledged his willingness to expose himself to deadly enemy fire in order to assist a wounded fellow soldier.

His recognition came during a period when the military service of Civil War veterans continued to receive national attention. Many soldiers whose courageous actions had occurred during the conflict were honored years afterward, preserving accounts of personal bravery that might otherwise have faded from public memory.

For Hanks, the Medal of Honor represented official recognition of a selfless act performed when another soldier's life was in immediate danger. His achievement emphasized that military courage could be demonstrated not only by confronting an enemy but also by risking one's life to protect a comrade.

Following his military service, Hanks eventually settled in Nebraska, becoming associated with the community of North Bend. Detailed accounts of his civilian occupation and family circumstances are limited in the available historical records, but his later years connected him to the growing communities of the American Midwest.

Joseph Hanks died on December 28, 1922, in North Bend, Nebraska, at the age of seventy-nine. He was buried at Woodland Cemetery in North Bend, where his final resting place commemorates his service as a Union soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor.

His legacy remains closely associated with the desperate fighting at Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. While thousands of soldiers struggled to overcome Confederate fortifications, Hanks distinguished himself through a courageous decision to help a wounded comrade who could not escape the battlefield alone.

The Medal of Honor awarded to Joseph Hanks stands as an enduring tribute to his bravery, compassion, and devotion to his fellow soldiers. His story demonstrates that extraordinary heroism is not measured solely by victories or captured positions, but also by the willingness to risk one's own life so that another might survive. More than a century after his death, his actions at Vicksburg remain a powerful example of selfless courage during the American Civil War.