Nineveh Shaw McKeen

Three Wounds, a Captured Flag, and a Prison Escape

Nineveh Shaw McKeen was an American Civil War officer and Medal of Honor recipient whose military service was marked by extraordinary courage, serious battlefield wounds, and a daring escape from Confederate captivity. Serving as a first lieutenant in Company H of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, he distinguished himself in two separate engagements in Tennessee. At Stones River on December 30, 1862, he was wounded three times during a charge against Confederate forces. Six months later, at Liberty Gap on June 25, 1863, he captured the regimental colors of the Confederate 8th Arkansas Infantry. These actions earned him the United States Medal of Honor on June 23, 1890.

McKeen was born in 1837 in Marshall, Clark County, Illinois. Before the Civil War, he worked as a merchant in his hometown. His early life was closely associated with the community from which he would enter military service.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Clark County quickly began organizing volunteer companies for the Union Army. McKeen became one of the officers of a locally raised company under Captain Edwin Harlan. He received a commission as first lieutenant in June 1861, and the company became Company H of the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

The regiment was mustered into federal service on June 28, 1861. Among its early commanders was Ulysses S. Grant, who briefly served as colonel before receiving promotion to brigadier general. McKeen's association with the regiment began during this formative period of its military service.

The 21st Illinois initially operated in Missouri before participating in campaigns across the western theater. During 1862, the regiment served in Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Its operations included the advance toward Corinth and the Battle of Perryville, followed by movements toward Nashville.

By December 1862, the regiment was serving with Union forces advancing against General Braxton Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee near Murfreesboro.

On December 30, 1862, the 21st Illinois participated in fierce fighting near Stones River. Alongside other Union regiments, it charged Confederate artillery positions, including a battery of the Washington Artillery. The Illinois soldiers drove the opposing gunners from their position before Confederate infantry forced the Union troops to withdraw.

During this engagement, First Lieutenant McKeen demonstrated the courage that would later bring him national recognition. He was conspicuous in the charge and sustained three wounds while participating in the fighting.

The official Medal of Honor citation specifically recognized his conduct during this action. Although the surviving account does not establish the precise nature of each wound, it confirms that McKeen was wounded three times during the charge.

Despite these injuries, McKeen continued his military career. By the summer of 1863, the 21st Illinois was participating in the Tullahoma Campaign under Major General William S. Rosecrans, whose Army of the Cumberland sought to drive Confederate forces from central Tennessee.

On June 25, 1863, Union and Confederate troops clashed at Liberty Gap, an important passage through the Tennessee hills. The 21st Illinois participated in the fighting as Union forces advanced against Confederate positions.

During the engagement, McKeen captured the colors of the Confederate 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.

Regimental flags served as important battlefield symbols, identifying military formations and helping soldiers maintain their positions amid the confusion of combat. Their capture represented a significant military achievement and was frequently recognized as an act of exceptional bravery.

McKeen's capture of the Confederate colors at Liberty Gap became the second action specifically recognized in his Medal of Honor citation. Together with his conduct at Stones River, the achievement established his distinction as a Union officer who had demonstrated extraordinary courage in separate engagements.

His military experiences, however, were far from over.

In September 1863, the 21st Illinois participated in the Battle of Chickamauga in northern Georgia. The regiment entered the fighting on September 19 and continued its resistance the following day as Confederate forces attacked the Union lines.

On September 20, the Union position was disrupted when a gap opened between major formations. Confederate troops exploited the opening, placing elements of the 21st Illinois in a dangerous and increasingly isolated position.

The regiment suffered severe casualties during the battle. Its commanding officer, Colonel John W. S. Alexander, was killed, and several other officers were wounded or captured.

Among those taken prisoner was First Lieutenant Nineveh McKeen.

A surviving account written by fellow officer Lieutenant Henry Songer identifies McKeen among the Union soldiers who fell into Confederate hands. Songer's recollections provide direct testimony of the confusion surrounding the capture and the circumstances in which the regiment's officers became prisoners of war.

McKeen was subsequently confined at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, a Confederate military prison that held captured Union officers.

On the night of February 9, 1864, he participated in one of the Civil War's most remarkable prison escapes. A group of Union officers had secretly constructed a tunnel beneath the prison, creating a passage beyond the guarded building.

A total of 109 prisoners escaped through the tunnel. Many were subsequently recaptured, but McKeen was among those who successfully escaped Confederate custody.

Historical accounts of the Libby Prison escape identify him under variations of his name, including Nineoch McKean and N. S. McKean. These records preserve his participation in the celebrated escape alongside fellow Union officers.

Following his return to Union lines, McKeen resumed his association with the 21st Illinois Infantry. His wartime military service ended on July 2, 1864, when he resigned his commission.

In recognition of his military service, he received honorary brevet promotions to captain and major of United States Volunteers. His highest substantive military rank remained first lieutenant, while brevet major represented his highest recognized honorary grade.

After leaving the army, McKeen returned to civilian life. Family historical records identify his wife as America Lake and record their children, Edward, Benjamin, and Eliza.

He eventually settled in Collinsville, Illinois, and worked in the railroad industry. For approximately eighteen years, he was employed as a stock-shipping agent associated with the St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute Railroad. His work connected him with the commercial transportation network centered on the St. Louis region.

On June 23, 1890, nearly twenty-seven years after his actions at Liberty Gap, McKeen received the Medal of Honor. The decoration recognized both his conduct during the charge at Stones River, where he suffered three wounds, and his capture of the Confederate 8th Arkansas Infantry's colors at Liberty Gap.

The award represented formal recognition of two exceptional acts performed during his service with the 21st Illinois Infantry.

Nineveh Shaw McKeen died on December 22, 1890, in Collinsville, Illinois, approximately six months after receiving the Medal of Honor. He was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Collinsville, where his grave is recorded in Section G, Lot 707.

McKeen's legacy extends beyond the two battlefield actions for which he received the nation's highest military decoration. His service included serious wounds, participation in major western campaigns, capture at Chickamauga, and a successful escape from Libby Prison.

From a young officer in an Illinois volunteer regiment to a decorated Civil War veteran, his life reflected remarkable courage and endurance. His Medal of Honor preserves the memory of his actions at Stones River and Liberty Gap, while the historical record of his escape from Confederate captivity adds another extraordinary chapter to his military service.