Le Roy Williams

Braved enemy fire at night to bring his fallen colonel home!

Le Roy Williams was born in Oswego, New York; sources differ on whether his birth year was 1844 or 1845, so this biography omits the year. He served in Company G, 8th New York Heavy Artillery, and later reached first lieutenant. At Cold Harbor, Virginia, on June 3, 1864, Sergeant Williams and four companions went under enemy fire and, at night, recovered the body of their colonel from near Confederate lines. Williams received the Medal of Honor on April 1, 1898. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 14, 1930, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, New York. No prewar occupation is established by the authoritative recipient profile.

Sources: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/leroy-williams ; https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/citations1.html ; https://case.edu/ech/articles/w/williams-le-roy-w