Lewis J. Ingalls

Wounded, he ran through fire to a switch and freed the train!

A misplaced railroad switch sent Lewis J. Ingalls and his comrades directly into an ambush in Louisiana. Instead of taking cover, Ingalls ran under fire to another switch so the train and surviving soldiers could escape. He served as a private in Company K, 8th Vermont Infantry.

On September 4, 1862, near Boutte Station, Louisiana, a Union train carrying troops was diverted by a misplaced switch and came under Confederate fire. Ingalls was wounded, but he exposed himself to the fire, reached another switch, and opened the route so the train could move away from the ambush.

Medal of Honor Citation (condensed): Although wounded during an ambush at Boutte Station, ran under fire to a switch and opened the track, permitting the train and surviving soldiers to escape.

Ingalls received the Medal of Honor on October 20, 1899. He was born in Massachusetts in 1837 and died on December 31, 1913, in Irasburg, Vermont, where he was buried in Irasburg Cemetery.