Joseph Stickels

He Seized an Enemy Flag as the Confederacy Fell

He seized an enemy battle flag as the Confederacy approached collapse, distinguishing himself during one of the final major assaults of the American Civil War. On April 9, 1865, at the Battle of Fort Blakely, Alabama, Sergeant Joseph Stickels of Company A, 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, demonstrated extraordinary courage by capturing a Confederate flag during the Union assault on heavily fortified enemy positions. His battlefield achievement earned him the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration for valor, and secured his place among the distinguished soldiers of the Civil War.

Joseph Stickels was born in 1843 in Butler County, Ohio. His early life unfolded in a region that was experiencing substantial economic and population growth during the decades preceding the Civil War. Agriculture, small businesses, and developing transportation networks supported communities throughout southwestern Ohio, where families established homes and participated in the expanding economy of the American Midwest.

Although detailed accounts of Stickels' childhood, education, and early occupation remain limited, military records establish his connection with Bethany, a community in Butler County, Ohio. This location was later recorded as his place of entry into military service.

Stickels grew up during a period of increasing political division in the United States. Disputes over slavery, the expansion of federal authority, and the admission of new states intensified throughout the 1850s. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, several Southern states declared their secession from the Union.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, beginning the American Civil War.

President Lincoln called upon loyal states to provide volunteers for the defense of the Union. Ohio responded by organizing military regiments that would serve in campaigns across the Eastern and Western Theaters.

Over the course of the conflict, Ohio became one of the Union's most important sources of military manpower. Its soldiers participated in major engagements from Virginia and Tennessee to Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama.

Joseph Stickels entered Union military service and became a member of Company A of the 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

The regiment, commonly known as the Greyhound Regiment, was organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati during August and September 1862. Its companies were recruited primarily from Hamilton and Butler counties, drawing upon communities in the southwestern portion of the state.

The 83rd Ohio was organized for three years of Federal service under Colonel Frederick William Moore.

The regiment's initial duties involved protecting the approaches to Cincinnati against a threatened Confederate advance through Kentucky.

In September 1862, Confederate forces under General Edmund Kirby Smith were operating in Kentucky, raising concerns that they might threaten Cincinnati and the surrounding region.

Union authorities responded by concentrating troops in northern Kentucky, where defensive works protected the strategically important crossings of the Ohio River.

The 83rd Ohio moved toward Covington, Kentucky, and performed assignments associated with the defense of Cincinnati.

These early operations reflected the importance of protecting Union transportation routes and population centers against Confederate incursions.

As the immediate threat diminished, the regiment moved farther south and became involved in the wider Union military campaigns in the Mississippi Valley.

During the closing months of 1862, the 83rd Ohio joined Union forces assembling for operations against Confederate positions along the Mississippi River.

The regiment moved through Kentucky before traveling toward Memphis, Tennessee, where Major General William T. Sherman was preparing an expedition against Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Vicksburg occupied a commanding position overlooking the Mississippi River and represented one of the Confederacy's most important defensive strongholds.

Control of the river was essential to the Union's military strategy. Capturing the Confederate positions along its banks would disrupt enemy transportation networks and divide the Confederacy geographically.

In December 1862, the 83rd Ohio participated in Sherman's expedition along the Yazoo River.

The operation included fighting near Chickasaw Bayou, where Confederate soldiers occupied strong defensive positions supported by difficult terrain.

Union attempts to overcome these defenses failed, and Sherman withdrew his troops.

Although the expedition did not capture Vicksburg, the regiment remained involved in the continuing campaign to secure the Mississippi Valley.

In January 1863, the 83rd Ohio participated in the successful Union attack against Arkansas Post.

Confederate forces had established Fort Hindman near the Arkansas River, threatening Union transportation and communications in the region.

Union soldiers attacked the position, overcoming the Confederate defenses and forcing the garrison to surrender.

The 83rd Ohio distinguished itself during the assault, becoming one of the first Union regiments to raise its colors upon the Confederate fortification.

The engagement also brought substantial casualties to the regiment, demonstrating the dangers faced by infantry soldiers attacking prepared defensive positions.

Following the victory at Arkansas Post, the regiment moved into Louisiana and continued supporting Union operations directed against Vicksburg.

During the spring of 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant developed a new strategy to capture the Confederate stronghold.

Rather than continuing unsuccessful approaches from the north, Grant moved his army south of Vicksburg, crossed the Mississippi River, and advanced inland.

The resulting campaign produced several major Union victories.

The 83rd Ohio participated in operations associated with Port Gibson, Champion Hill, and the Big Black River Bridge.

These battles weakened Confederate forces defending the approaches to Vicksburg and compelled the enemy army to withdraw behind the city's fortifications.

On May 18, 1863, Union troops reached Vicksburg and began surrounding the Confederate defenses.

Grant initially hoped that a determined assault might capture the city before the defenders could strengthen their positions.

Union troops attacked on May 19 and again on May 22, but the Confederate defenses proved extremely difficult to overcome.

The 83rd Ohio participated in the May 22 assault, advancing against enemy earthworks under heavy artillery and musket fire.

The regiment suffered casualties while attempting to support the larger Union offensive.

Following the unsuccessful attacks, Grant shifted his strategy toward a prolonged siege.

Federal forces established trenches, artillery positions, and defensive lines around Vicksburg, gradually restricting supplies and weakening the Confederate garrison.

The siege continued until July 4, 1863, when Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton surrendered the city to Grant.

The capture of Vicksburg became one of the most important Union victories of the war, securing control of a critical section of the Mississippi River.

The regiment subsequently participated in the campaign against Jackson, Mississippi, before being transferred to operations in Louisiana.

During the remainder of 1863, the 83rd Ohio served in the Department of the Gulf.

Its assignments included operations in western Louisiana, where Union forces attempted to extend Federal control and disrupt Confederate military movements.

In November 1863, the regiment participated in the fighting around Grand Coteau, where Confederate forces attacked Union troops operating in the region.

The engagement caused significant casualties, and the regiment continued performing demanding military assignments throughout the winter.

During the spring of 1864, the 83rd Ohio became involved in the Red River Campaign.

The expedition was intended to strengthen Union control over important regions of Louisiana and Texas while weakening Confederate forces operating west of the Mississippi River.

Union commanders advanced along the Red River toward Shreveport, encountering increasing resistance from Confederate troops under Major General Richard Taylor.

On April 8, 1864, Confederate forces attacked the Union army near Mansfield, Louisiana, in an engagement commonly known as the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads.

The 83rd Ohio participated in the fighting, helping resist Confederate attacks and supporting the withdrawal of Federal troops.

The campaign became a difficult experience for the Union forces, which ultimately abandoned their advance and retreated toward safer positions along the Mississippi River.

Following the Red River Campaign, the regiment remained in Louisiana for much of 1864.

Its responsibilities included garrison assignments, expeditions into surrounding territory, and the protection of important transportation routes.

These operations formed part of the larger Union effort to maintain control over strategically important positions in the Mississippi Valley.

The regiment eventually moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where organizational changes brought together remaining soldiers from the 83rd and elements of the 48th Ohio Infantry.

By early 1865, the military situation across the Confederacy had changed dramatically.

Union victories in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia had weakened Confederate armies and placed increasing pressure upon the remaining Southern strongholds.

General William T. Sherman's armies had captured Atlanta in September 1864 and subsequently advanced to the Atlantic coast.

In Tennessee, Confederate forces suffered a devastating defeat at Nashville in December 1864.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant continued his prolonged offensive against General Robert E. Lee's army around Petersburg and Richmond.

In the Gulf region, Union commanders prepared a new campaign against Mobile, Alabama, one of the Confederacy's remaining important ports and military centers.

Mobile occupied a strategically significant position near the northern end of Mobile Bay.

Although Union naval forces had achieved a major victory at Mobile Bay in August 1864, Confederate troops continued defending the land approaches to the city.

The Confederacy maintained several important fortified positions, including Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely.

These defenses protected the approaches to Mobile and helped prevent Union forces from advancing directly against the city.

Major General Edward R. S. Canby organized an offensive intended to overcome the Confederate fortifications and capture Mobile.

The campaign involved coordinated movements by Union infantry, artillery, cavalry, and naval forces.

The 83rd Ohio Infantry became part of the Thirteenth Army Corps and participated in the advance against the Confederate positions.

During March 1865, the regiment traveled from the Pensacola area in Florida toward the defenses surrounding Mobile.

The advance required difficult marches through southern Alabama, where forests, waterways, and poor roads complicated military transportation.

Union troops gradually approached Fort Blakely, one of the principal Confederate defensive positions on the eastern side of Mobile Bay.

The fortifications were located in Baldwin County, Alabama, where Confederate engineers had constructed an extensive system of earthworks.

The defensive line included artillery batteries, trenches, rifle pits, and obstacles designed to slow attacking infantry.

Confederate Brigadier General St. John R. Liddell commanded the forces defending Fort Blakely.

His garrison numbered approximately four thousand soldiers, who faced a much larger Union army approaching from several directions.

By April 2, 1865, Federal troops had established positions around Fort Blakely and begun the siege.

Union commanders gradually strengthened their lines, moved artillery into position, and prepared for a coordinated assault.

The defenders resisted with artillery and rifle fire, attempting to prevent Union soldiers from approaching the earthworks.

As the siege continued, Federal troops pushed their positions closer to the Confederate fortifications.

The struggle around Fort Blakely developed alongside the Union offensive against Spanish Fort, another major Confederate stronghold protecting Mobile.

On April 8, Union forces captured Spanish Fort, forcing the remaining Confederate defenders to abandon the position.

The victory allowed Canby to concentrate additional troops against Fort Blakely.

By the following day, approximately sixteen thousand Union soldiers were assembled for the final assault.

The Confederate defenders were heavily outnumbered but remained protected behind substantial earthworks.

The attack was scheduled for April 9, 1865.

It would become one of the final major combined-force battles of the Civil War.

On the morning of April 9, Union commanders completed preparations for the assault.

Federal troops moved into position opposite the Confederate defenses while artillery batteries prepared to support the advancing infantry.

The attacking formations included veteran Union regiments that had participated in years of campaigning across the Western Theater.

Among them was the 83rd Ohio Infantry.

Sergeant Joseph Stickels was serving in Company A as the Union troops prepared to advance.

His rank placed him among the noncommissioned officers responsible for helping maintain discipline and organization within the regiment.

Sergeants played important roles during Civil War infantry operations, assisting commissioned officers in directing soldiers, maintaining formations, and responding to changing battlefield conditions.

These responsibilities became especially important during attacks against fortified enemy positions, when the noise and confusion of combat could disrupt communication between officers and their men.

The Confederate defensive works at Fort Blakely represented a formidable obstacle.

The attacking Union infantry had to cross exposed ground before reaching the enemy's trenches and earthworks.

Confederate soldiers were positioned to fire upon the advancing troops from behind protective fortifications.

Artillery batteries also defended important approaches to the Confederate line.

Despite the danger, Union commanders believed that a concentrated assault could overwhelm the defenders and bring the siege to an end.

During the afternoon, Federal troops began moving forward.

The attacking infantry advanced toward the Confederate positions while Union artillery and other supporting forces attempted to suppress the enemy defenses.

As the soldiers approached the fortifications, Confederate troops opened fire.

The battlefield became a scene of intense fighting as Union soldiers pressed toward the earthworks.

Some attacking formations encountered obstacles and defensive structures intended to slow their movements.

Others advanced against Confederate rifle pits and artillery positions.

The assault required determination and close cooperation as Union regiments attempted to penetrate the enemy line.

The 83rd Ohio participated in the attack against the Confederate defenses.

The regiment's historical record describes its successful assault upon enemy positions, during which its soldiers captured fortifications, artillery pieces, prisoners, and battle flags.

The fighting was costly.

The 83rd Ohio sustained thirty-six killed or wounded during the engagement, reflecting the danger faced by the soldiers as they advanced against the Confederate works.

Nevertheless, the Union troops succeeded in breaking through the defensive positions.

Confederate resistance began collapsing as Federal soldiers entered the fortifications and forced the defenders from their positions.

It was during this decisive engagement that Sergeant Joseph Stickels performed the action for which he would receive the Medal of Honor.

Amid the fighting at Fort Blakely, Stickels captured a Confederate battle flag.

His official Medal of Honor citation recognizes the achievement as the capture of a flag.

Although the surviving citation does not identify the Confederate regiment to which the colors belonged or describe the precise circumstances of the capture, it confirms the extraordinary battlefield action for which he received national recognition.

During the American Civil War, regimental battle flags carried immense military and symbolic importance.

The colors represented the identity, traditions, and honor of the military organization that carried them.

They also served practical purposes on the battlefield.

When smoke, gunfire, and confusion made it difficult for soldiers to identify their officers or neighboring formations, the regimental flag provided a visible rallying point.

Soldiers were trained to protect their colors, and the duty of carrying the flag was considered a position of honor.

Color bearers frequently faced exceptional danger because the flags they carried were highly visible during combat.

For an attacking soldier, capturing an enemy battle flag represented a distinguished military accomplishment.

The capture demonstrated that the soldier had reached and overcome the danger surrounding an important enemy symbol.

Such achievements were often recognized by commanders and became part of the official histories of military regiments.

Stickels' capture of a Confederate flag distinguished him during the Union victory at Fort Blakely.

The 83rd Ohio's regimental history records the capture of two enemy flags during the assault, although surviving evidence does not establish which particular Confederate flag Stickels personally secured.

His achievement therefore remains clearly documented even though some details of the encounter have been lost.

The Union assault succeeded in overwhelming the Confederate defensive line.

Federal soldiers entered the fortifications, captured artillery and military supplies, and took large numbers of prisoners.

The Confederate garrison could no longer maintain its position.

Fort Blakely fell to Union forces, ending the siege and removing one of the final major obstacles protecting Mobile.

The victory represented an important success in the closing stages of the Mobile Campaign.

Thousands of Confederate soldiers were captured, and the Union army secured control of a strategically important defensive position.

The fall of Fort Blakely occurred on the same day that General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

Although the two events took place hundreds of miles apart, they demonstrated the rapid collapse of Confederate military resistance during the final weeks of the war.

At Appomattox, Lee's surrender effectively ended the principal Confederate military campaign in Virginia.

In Alabama, the capture of Fort Blakely opened the way for Union troops to occupy Mobile.

On April 12, 1865, Federal forces entered Mobile, securing another important Union victory.

The fall of the city further weakened Confederate control along the Gulf Coast and brought the war closer to its conclusion.

Although the principal Confederate armies were surrendering, several military commands continued operating during April and May.

Union troops therefore remained in service while Federal authorities completed military operations and began restoring control over formerly Confederate territory.

The 83rd Ohio Infantry continued its assignments following the capture of Mobile.

The regiment moved into central Alabama, performing duties associated with the occupation of important towns and the maintenance of Federal authority.

Later, the unit returned toward Mobile and was transferred to Texas.

The regiment continued serving until the summer of 1865, when its remaining soldiers began the process of returning to civilian life.

The 83rd Ohio was mustered out at Galveston, Texas, on July 24, 1865, and subsequently discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio, on August 10.

Its wartime record reflected years of demanding operations across the Mississippi Valley, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast.

Throughout its service, the regiment experienced significant losses from battle wounds and disease.

The sacrifice of its soldiers formed part of the wider Union effort that ultimately preserved the United States and brought an end to the Confederacy.

For Joseph Stickels, the most important individual distinction of his military career had already occurred at Fort Blakely.

His capture of a Confederate battle flag brought immediate national recognition.

On June 8, 1865, Sergeant Joseph Stickels was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary bravery during the Battle of Fort Blakely on April 9.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War to recognize exceptional courage and distinguished military service.

Authorized for the United States Army in 1862, it developed into the nation's highest military decoration for valor.

During the Civil War, soldiers received the Medal of Honor for acts such as capturing enemy colors, preserving their own regimental flags, rescuing comrades, and performing extraordinary duties under hostile fire.

Stickels' decoration recognized his capture of a Confederate flag during a successful assault against fortified enemy positions.

The award was presented only two months after the battle, demonstrating the immediate recognition given to his achievement.

His military record preserved the distinction of his actions even though the surviving citation contained only a brief description.

The capture of a flag was a significant event because regimental colors were closely associated with military honor and battlefield leadership.

Taking an enemy flag during combat represented the ability to reach an opposing unit's most visible symbol despite the danger of enemy resistance.

For Stickels, this act became the defining achievement of his military service.

Following the Civil War, Stickels returned to civilian life.

The surviving historical record provides limited information about his occupation, personal activities, and the circumstances surrounding his movements during the postwar years.

His later life became associated with communities in Illinois and Iowa.

Like many Civil War veterans, he lived during a period of major national transformation as the United States entered Reconstruction and began rebuilding after four years of devastating conflict.

The end of the war brought new challenges for former soldiers.

Thousands returned home with injuries, health problems, or disrupted civilian careers, while others moved westward in search of employment and economic opportunities.

The social and economic changes of the period reshaped communities across the Midwest.

Although the specific details of Stickels' postwar career have not been fully established, his military distinction remained part of the official record of Union service.

His name was preserved in government records documenting Civil War Medal of Honor recipients.

He was also remembered through the history of the 83rd Ohio Infantry, whose final major campaign had brought him national recognition.

Joseph Stickels died on December 6, 1876, in Quincy, Illinois, at approximately thirty-three years of age.

His death occurred little more than eleven years after the end of the Civil War.

He was buried at Monroe Cemetery in Monroe, Jasper County, Iowa.

His burial location preserves a connection between the Ohio soldier who served in the Union Army and the Midwestern communities associated with his later life.

Although he died relatively young, his Medal of Honor ensured that the record of his bravery would continue beyond his lifetime.

The history of the Battle of Fort Blakely remains significant because it represents one of the last major combined-force engagements of the American Civil War.

The Union victory helped secure Mobile and demonstrated the military collapse of Confederate forces in the Gulf region.

For the men of the 83rd Ohio Infantry, the assault marked the culmination of a long period of campaigning that had taken the regiment across several states and exposed its soldiers to difficult marches, severe weather, disease, and repeated battles.

The capture of the Confederate fortifications reflected the determination of Union soldiers who continued fighting even as news of Confederate defeats elsewhere suggested that the war was nearing its conclusion.

Among these soldiers, Sergeant Joseph Stickels distinguished himself through an individual act of courage.

His capture of an enemy battle flag represented both a personal achievement and a contribution to the larger Union victory.

The Medal of Honor awarded to Joseph Stickels stands as an enduring tribute to his bravery, determination, and devotion to duty.

His story preserves the memory of a Union infantry sergeant whose courage emerged during one of the final major battles of the American Civil War.

On April 9, 1865, as Confederate defenses collapsed at Fort Blakely, Stickels captured a battle flag and secured his place among the recognized heroes of the conflict.

More than a century and a half later, his military achievement remains an enduring reminder of the extraordinary courage displayed by ordinary soldiers during the final struggle that brought the American Civil War toward its conclusion.