Michael Emmet Urell

Michael Emmet Urell was born in Ireland on November 8, 1844, and came to the United States while still young. He grew up in New York and entered military service at the beginning of the American Civil War. His life would eventually span two major American conflicts, years of government service, leadership in the District of Columbia National Guard, and prominent participation in veterans’ organizations. He began the Civil War as a teenage enlisted soldier and, many years later, reached the rank of Colonel in the District of Columbia National Guard. Urell enlisted on April 17, 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, joining the organization that became the 82nd New York Infantry. He served with Company E. His regiment was part of the Army of the Potomac and experienced some of the most demanding campaigns of the Eastern Theater. His early wartime service included the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. The battle was the first major land confrontation of the Civil War and ended in a Union retreat toward Washington. For the young Urell, it marked the beginning of a military career that would expose him repeatedly to battlefield danger. As the war continued, Urell remained with the 82nd New York during the Army of the Potomac’s campaigns. His service included the Battle of Fair Oaks, also known as Seven Pines, during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. He subsequently continued through additional operations as the Union Army fought across Virginia. Urell’s wartime career was marked not only by combat participation but also by repeated wounds. Surviving accounts of his service describe him being wounded during the Civil War and nevertheless returning to active duty. These experiences ultimately contributed to his later discharge from the Army because of wounds received in service. The defining event of his military life occurred on October 14, 1863, at the Battle of Bristoe Station, Virginia. At that time Michael Emmet Urell was officially serving as a Private, Company E, 82nd New York Infantry. During the battle he had been detailed to serve as a color bearer. Bristoe Station — October 14, 1863 The regimental colors occupied a position of extraordinary importance in nineteenth-century warfare. Before modern battlefield communications, soldiers depended heavily upon their flags to identify the location and movement of their unit. A color bearer was therefore both a visible symbol of the regiment and an obvious target for enemy fire. Carrying the colors into battle demanded unusual courage because the flag had to remain visible even under heavy fire. At Bristoe Station, Urell remained with the colors during the fighting and displayed the gallantry that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. During the action he was severely wounded. His official Medal of Honor citation is characteristically brief: “Gallantry in action while detailed as color bearer; was severely wounded.” Although only a few words long, the citation identifies exactly why the Army recognized him: Urell continued performing one of the regiment’s most dangerous battlefield duties under fire until he was badly wounded. The Battle of Bristoe Station became the defining action of his military career. Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor had been established only shortly before Urell’s action. The Army version was authorized during the Civil War in 1862, at a time when the United States did not yet possess the extensive system of valor decorations that would develop during the twentieth century. Consequently, the Medal of Honor became the nation’s principal military decoration for exceptional gallantry. Urell’s heroic action occurred on: October 14, 1863 — Bristoe Station, Virginia However, he did not receive the Medal of Honor immediately. The decoration was formally presented to him on: June 6, 1870 Therefore, for the database, his verified decoration is correctly represented as: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1870 — No device or clasp The year 1870 represents the presentation of the award, while 1863 remains the date of the action for which it was earned. Urell received the Medal of Honor during his lifetime. It was not a posthumous award. No additional star, clasp, bar, oak leaf cluster, or other device has been verified for his Medal of Honor, so the ribbon remains plain. Continued Civil War Service Urell recovered sufficiently from his wounds to continue his military service. Approximately six and a half months after Bristoe Station, he was again involved in major fighting during the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864. There he was wounded again. His repeated injuries eventually made further active field service impossible. Urell was honorably discharged on May 23, 1864, because of wounds received in action. His Civil War record nevertheless produced significant recognition beyond his Medal of Honor. During his wartime service he advanced through the grades and ultimately received brevet recognition for gallant and meritorious conduct. His highest Civil War rank is recorded as: Brevet Major That rank should be distinguished from both his Medal of Honor action rank and his later National Guard rank: Medal of Honor Action Rank: Private Highest Civil War Rank: Brevet Major Highest Later Verified Rank: Colonel The database therefore correctly uses Colonel as his overall highest verified rank. Government Service After the Civil War Urell transitioned into civilian government service after leaving the Army. Beginning in 1864, he became associated with civilian service in the War Department in Washington, D.C. This work kept him closely connected with the military establishment even though his active Civil War service had ended. Washington eventually became a central part of Urell’s postwar life. He also became active in veterans’ organizations. As the generation of Civil War veterans aged, organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic became major institutions in American public life. Urell held leadership positions in the veterans’ community and became a prominent representative of former soldiers. But his military career was not completely finished. More than three decades after Bristoe Station, another war brought him back into active military service. Spanish-American War When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Michael Emmet Urell was already fifty-three years old and a veteran of extensive Civil War combat. Nevertheless, he returned to military service. Urell served as a Major in the 1st District of Columbia Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. The regiment was sent to Cuba during the campaign around Santiago. Urell therefore returned to wartime duty approximately thirty-seven years after he had first enlisted during the Civil War. His Spanish-American War service placed him in the Santiago Campaign, where American forces conducted operations that ultimately resulted in the defeat and surrender of the Spanish army in the area. The Spanish forces at Santiago surrendered in July 1898. After the surrender, Urell was entrusted with responsibility connected with the guarding of Spanish prisoners of war. His service during this conflict established that his military career genuinely spanned two distinct wars: American Civil War and Spanish-American War This is why the database’s Multi-Service or Multi-War setting is appropriately ON—not because Urell changed military branch, but because he performed documented Army service in two separate wars. Colonel in the District of Columbia National Guard After the Spanish-American War, Urell continued his association with the military establishment in Washington. He eventually became Colonel of the 2nd Regiment, District of Columbia National Guard. The official history of the District of Columbia National Guard specifically preserves his connection with that organization and identifies him as a Medal of Honor recipient who later attained the rank of Colonel. This later National Guard rank is why his current database rank should remain: Colonel — U.S. Army context It does not change the fact that he was only a Private when he performed his Medal of Honor action at Bristoe Station. The distinction is essential to preserving his career accurately. Veterans’ Leadership Urell remained deeply involved in military veterans’ affairs after his active wartime service. He became prominent in organizations representing veterans of both the Civil War and Spanish-American War. He served in senior roles within the Grand Army of the Republic and became Commander-in-Chief of the National Army and Navy Spanish War Veterans. His position in these organizations reflected an unusual personal military history. Few veterans of the Spanish-American War had also fought as teenage soldiers in the earliest campaigns of the Civil War. Urell belonged to both generations. His life therefore formed a bridge between the Union Army of 1861 and the expanding American military establishment of 1898. Campaign Medals and the Final Ribbon Rack Despite Urell’s service in two wars, the final ribbon rack for this project remains intentionally conservative. His verified personal decoration is: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1870 — No device or clasp His documented Civil War service does not, by itself, establish recipient-specific entitlement to the later Civil War Campaign Medal. Likewise, his service during the Spanish-American War does not automatically prove individual issuance or entitlement to the Spanish Campaign Medal, Army of Cuban Occupation Medal, or later Spanish War Service Medal. Therefore these remain outside the final verified rack unless stronger recipient-specific evidence is found: Civil War Campaign Medal — HOLD / DO NOT ADD Spanish Campaign Medal — HOLD / DO NOT ADD Army of Cuban Occupation Medal — HOLD / DO NOT ADD Spanish War Service Medal — DO NOT ADD His verified final ribbon rack therefore contains only: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1870 — No device or clasp Final Years In his later years, Urell remained closely connected to the veterans’ community and to public remembrance of the wars in which he had served. He eventually traveled back to Ireland. Michael Emmet Urell died on September 6, 1910, in County Cork, Ireland, at the age of sixty-five. His remains were subsequently returned to the United States. He was buried with military honor at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where his grave permanently connects his life with the nation whose Army he had served during two separate wars. Legacy Michael Emmet Urell’s military life was extraordinary in its duration and variety. He entered service in 1861 as a young Union soldier. He fought at the First Battle of Bull Run. He participated in the fighting at Fair Oaks and other campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. He endured repeated wounds. At Bristoe Station on October 14, 1863, while serving as a Private and carrying his regiment’s colors, he displayed gallantry under fire and was severely wounded. He later returned to combat and was wounded again at the Wilderness. His injuries eventually ended his Civil War field service, but the Army later recognized the courage he had shown at Bristoe Station by presenting him the Medal of Honor on June 6, 1870. More than thirty years later, Urell returned to military duty as a Major during the Spanish-American War, participated in the Santiago campaign, and performed duties after the Spanish surrender. He subsequently became Colonel of the 2nd Regiment, District of Columbia National Guard and a prominent leader among American veterans. His correct final profile therefore reads: Full Name: Michael Emmet Urell Branch: United States Army Medal of Honor Action Rank: Private Highest Civil War Rank: Brevet Major Highest Verified Later Rank: Colonel Medal of Honor Unit: Company E, 82nd New York Infantry Defining Action: Bristoe Station, Virginia — October 14, 1863 Later Conflict: Spanish-American War / Santiago Campaign Verified Decoration: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1870 — No device or clasp From a teenage Civil War soldier carrying the colors under fire to a Spanish-American War officer and National Guard colonel, Michael Emmet Urell spent much of his life connected to American military service. His Medal of Honor preserved the defining moment of that career—the courage of a young Private who carried his regiment’s flag at Bristoe Station and remained at his duty until he was severely wounded.