Nathan Huntley Edgerton

When Three Color Bearers Fell, the Flag Moved Forward

Nathan Huntley Edgerton was an American Civil War officer whose courage during the Battle of New Market Heights on September 29, 1864, earned him the United States Medal of Honor. Serving as a first lieutenant and adjutant of the 6th United States Colored Infantry, he carried his regiment's flag forward after three successive color bearers had been shot down, despite being wounded himself. His actions became part of the distinguished history of the United States Colored Troops and their service during the Civil War.

Edgerton was born on a farm near Barnesville, Belmont County, Ohio, into a large Quaker family. He was one of thirteen children of Joseph Jesse Edgerton and his wife, whose family had moved north from North Carolina. His upbringing was closely associated with the Religious Society of Friends, whose community in eastern Ohio included families that had settled there during the early nineteenth century.

Edgerton entered military service in 1863, during the third year of the American Civil War. Following the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania, he joined the Pennsylvania militia and served through the Gettysburg Campaign. Later that year, he received a commission as a first lieutenant in the 6th United States Colored Infantry, a Union Army regiment organized at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia.

The 6th United States Colored Infantry consisted of African American enlisted soldiers serving under commissioned officers. Organized in 1863, the regiment initially served in Virginia before becoming involved in operations associated with the Army of the James. By 1864, Edgerton was serving as the regiment's adjutant, holding an established officer's appointment when the unit participated in the fighting around Richmond and Petersburg.

During 1864, the regiment's recorded service included operations in the Virginia theater, particularly around Petersburg, Dutch Gap, and Deep Bottom. These movements preceded the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, a Union operation north of the James River that included the assault on Confederate defenses at New Market Heights.

On the morning of September 29, 1864, the 6th United States Colored Infantry advanced against Confederate positions at New Market Heights, near Richmond, Virginia. The regiment encountered intense resistance during the attack. The fighting was particularly costly for the 6th Infantry, whose recorded casualties during the Chaffin's Farm operations totaled 209 killed, wounded, or missing out of 367 officers and men engaged.

It was during this engagement that Edgerton performed the act for which he would receive the Medal of Honor. As the regiment advanced, three successive color bearers were shot down. The regimental flag, an important symbol of the unit's identity and position during battle, needed to be carried forward. Although wounded, Edgerton took up the flag and continued advancing with it.

His courage was documented in the official Medal of Honor citation, which established that he had carried the flag forward after three color bearers fell, despite his own wound. The account is brief, but it preserves the central facts of his extraordinary conduct during the assault.

Other members of the 6th United States Colored Infantry also distinguished themselves in the battle. Sergeant Major Thomas R. Hawkins and First Sergeant Alexander Kelly, both African American noncommissioned officers, performed acts of bravery involving the regimental colors and received Medals of Honor. Their individual actions, together with Edgerton's, became an important part of the regiment's history at New Market Heights.

Following the battle, Edgerton continued his military service. On November 16, 1864, he married Esther Lundy Mendenhall. He subsequently attained the rank of captain before the conclusion of his military career. The 6th United States Colored Infantry remained in service after the principal Confederate armies surrendered in 1865, and the regiment was mustered out on September 20, 1865. Edgerton left military service with the highest verified rank of captain.

The recognition of Edgerton's battlefield courage came more than three decades after the event. On March 30, 1898, he was issued the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chapin's Farm, Virginia, on September 29, 1864. The decoration formally recognized the extraordinary bravery he had demonstrated while serving as a first lieutenant and adjutant of the 6th United States Colored Infantry.

His Medal of Honor recognition also preserved his contribution to a battle in which African American Union soldiers distinguished themselves under heavy fire. The history of New Market Heights includes numerous individual acts of courage, and Edgerton's documented action places him among those honored for their conduct during the engagement.

After leaving the Army, Edgerton returned to civilian life in Pennsylvania. In later years, his life took him west to Oregon, where he eventually settled in the Agness area. His later years were spent far from the Virginia battlefield where he had earned his nation's highest military decoration.

Nathan Huntley Edgerton died on October 27, 1932, in Agness, Oregon. He was buried at his mountain homestead, where his grave preserves a personal connection to the place in which he spent his final years.

His military service has also been commemorated through historical interpretation of the Battle of New Market Heights. Artist Don Troiani depicted Edgerton alongside Sergeant Major Thomas R. Hawkins and First Sergeant Alexander Kelly in the painting *Freedom by the Sword: Three Medals of Honor*, reflecting the recognized courage of these three members of the 6th United States Colored Infantry.

Edgerton's enduring historical distinction rests on his documented action of September 29, 1864. Wounded during a costly assault, he took up the flag after three color bearers had fallen and carried it forward. That act earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the decorated Union soldiers of the American Civil War.