Josiah Phillips

He Captured a Confederate Flag as Petersburg Fell

Josiah Phillips was a United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient who distinguished himself during the American Civil War. Serving as a Private in Company E of the 148th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, he earned the nation's highest military decoration for capturing a Confederate battle flag at Sutherland Station, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, during the final days of the Petersburg Campaign.

Phillips was born around 1830 in Wyoming County, New York. Details of his childhood, family background, and early occupation remain limited in the surviving historical records. His military service was officially accredited to Ulysses, Potter County, Pennsylvania, where he entered the Union Army.

During the Civil War, Phillips served with Company E of the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry, a regiment assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The regiment operated as part of the Second Army Corps and participated in major Union campaigns in Virginia. Its documented service included the Petersburg operations, which culminated in the Confederate withdrawal from the city in April 1865.

By the spring of 1865, Phillips was serving with the regiment during the final operations against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Union forces under Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant had maintained pressure on Petersburg for months, seeking to break the Confederate defensive lines and sever the transportation routes supplying Lee's army.

On April 2, 1865, Union troops launched a series of attacks that resulted in the collapse of the Confederate defenses around Petersburg. The 148th Pennsylvania Infantry formed part of Major General Nelson A. Miles's division of the Second Army Corps, which advanced against Confederate positions near Sutherland Station.

The fighting at Sutherland Station centered on Confederate troops attempting to defend the South Side Railroad, a vital transportation and supply route west of Petersburg. Confederate forces held defensive positions near the railroad as Miles's Union division advanced. The engagement involved repeated attacks before Union troops succeeded in breaking through the Confederate line.

Phillips participated in the fighting as a Private in Company E. During the engagement, he captured a Confederate battle flag, an action specifically documented in his official Medal of Honor citation. A detailed historical account of the battle identifies the captured colors as belonging to the 47th North Carolina Infantry.

The capture occurred during a Union victory that forced Confederate troops from their positions near Sutherland Station. The Union advance secured control of the South Side Railroad and contributed to the loss of Petersburg as a defensible Confederate position.

Phillips's conduct received attention from his commanding officers. On April 11, 1865, Major General Nelson A. Miles recommended him for the Medal of Honor in recognition of his actions during the battle.

On May 10, 1865, Phillips was awarded the Medal of Honor for capturing the enemy flag at Sutherland Station on April 2. His official citation records the distinction in concise terms: "Capture of flag."

The award recognized his individual action during one of the last major engagements of the Petersburg Campaign. Phillips was one of four members of the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the Civil War.

The available authoritative biographical records provide limited information about Phillips's later civilian career and family life. He eventually resided in Wisconsin, where he spent his final years.

Josiah Phillips died on December 11, 1894, in Lawrence, Wisconsin, at approximately sixty-four years of age. He was buried in South Lawrence Cemetery in the De Pere area of Brown County, Wisconsin.

Phillips's Medal of Honor remains the defining documented recognition of his military service. His capture of a Confederate battle flag at Sutherland Station is preserved in the official records of the United States Army and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, commemorating his actions during the concluding operations of the American Civil War.