Oliver Hughes

The Confederate Flag Captured at Town Creek

Oliver Hughes was an American Civil War soldier whose courage during the final months of the conflict earned him the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration for valor. On February 20, 1865, while serving as a corporal in Company C of the 12th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, Hughes captured the battle flag of the 11th South Carolina Infantry during the fighting at Town Creek, North Carolina. His achievement came during the Union campaign to capture Wilmington, one of the Confederacy's last remaining major seaports.

Born on January 21, 1844, in Fentress County, Tennessee, Oliver Hughes grew up near the Tennessee-Kentucky border. His early years were spent in a region that would experience deep divisions during the American Civil War. Although Tennessee joined the Confederacy in 1861, many residents of its northern and eastern communities remained loyal to the Union.

The surviving historical records provide limited information about Hughes's childhood and education. By the time he entered military service, he was associated with Albany, Kentucky, the community officially credited as his place of enlistment.

Hughes joined the Union Army and served in Company C of the 12th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was organized during the early months of the Civil War, with companies recruited from southern Kentucky and nearby communities.

The 12th Kentucky became part of the Union forces operating in the western theater. Its military history included service in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina. Throughout the conflict, the regiment performed a variety of duties, ranging from guarding important transportation routes to participating in major battlefield operations.

During its early service, the regiment fought at the Battle of Mill Springs in January 1862, an important Union victory in southeastern Kentucky. It subsequently took part in the advance toward Corinth, Mississippi, as Federal forces attempted to establish control over Confederate transportation networks.

The regiment's later assignments brought it into operations in Tennessee and the campaigns that accompanied the Union advance into Georgia. During 1864, the 12th Kentucky participated in Major General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and served with the Twenty-third Army Corps.

Following the capture of Atlanta, the regiment remained with Union forces operating in Tennessee. Its regimental history included the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, and the Battle of Nashville in December, when Federal troops defeated Confederate General John Bell Hood's army.

These campaigns formed the background of the 12th Kentucky's wartime service, although the surviving records do not establish Hughes's individual participation in every engagement.

By early 1865, the regiment had been transferred eastward for operations in North Carolina. Union commanders were preparing to capture Wilmington, a strategically important Confederate port connected to an extensive network of railroads and military supply routes.

Wilmington had become increasingly valuable to the Confederacy as Federal naval blockades restricted access to southern ports. Supplies arriving through its harbor could be transported inland to Confederate armies fighting in Virginia and the Carolinas.

The fall of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865, opened the Cape Fear River to a major Union advance. Federal commanders then organized an operation to capture Wilmington itself and eliminate its remaining military value to Confederate forces.

Major General John M. Schofield directed the Union campaign, while Major General Jacob D. Cox led troops advancing toward Confederate defenses along the Cape Fear River.

The 12th Kentucky Infantry became part of this operation, serving with Federal forces assigned to overcome the remaining Confederate positions south of Wilmington.

Confederate troops initially defended Fort Anderson, a substantial earthwork on the western side of the Cape Fear River. As Union forces threatened to outflank the position, the defenders abandoned the fort during the night of February 18–19, 1865.

The Confederate soldiers withdrew northward and attempted to establish another defensive line near Town Creek. This position was intended to delay the Union advance and provide additional time for the defenders of Wilmington to reorganize.

On February 20, 1865, Union troops approached the Confederate position at Town Creek. The defenders occupied ground near the creek and surrounding roads, supported by artillery and natural obstacles.

The Federal advance developed into a determined attack as Union commanders sought to turn the Confederate flank and destroy the remaining defensive line.

Among the Confederate units participating in the defense was the 11th South Carolina Infantry, a regiment serving in the command associated with Brigadier General Johnson Hagood.

As the battle intensified, Union troops advanced against Confederate positions while other Federal soldiers maneuvered around the defenders. The Confederate line became increasingly vulnerable, forcing its commanders to consider withdrawal.

During the fighting, Corporal Oliver Hughes encountered the colors of the 11th South Carolina Infantry.

The Confederate regiment's flag was an important symbol of its military identity. Carried by a designated color bearer, it helped identify the unit and represented the service and sacrifices of the soldiers who fought beneath it.

Hughes succeeded in capturing the Confederate colors during the Union assault.

Historical accounts of the engagement identify him as the soldier who took possession of the 11th South Carolina's battle flag when Confederate resistance collapsed near Town Creek.

The capture was especially significant because Confederate troops had previously managed to preserve the same flag during fighting near the Weldon Railroad in Virginia in August 1864.

At Town Creek, however, the regiment was unable to retain its colors. Hughes secured the flag during the confusion of the battle and prevented its return to Confederate hands.

His achievement was recognized as an act of exceptional military courage. Capturing an enemy battle flag was considered a distinguished accomplishment during the Civil War because such flags served as rallying points and symbols of regimental honor.

The Confederate defenders were eventually overwhelmed. Union troops captured numerous prisoners, including officers and soldiers who had attempted to delay the Federal advance.

The defeat at Town Creek contributed to the collapse of Confederate defenses protecting Wilmington. With the remaining approaches threatened and the Federal army advancing, Confederate commanders were forced to abandon the city.

On February 22, 1865, Union troops entered Wilmington, ending its role as a major Confederate port. The victory eliminated an important supply route and further weakened the Confederacy's ability to sustain its remaining armies.

The flag captured by Hughes was subsequently delivered through Union military channels. It eventually reached the United States War Department in Washington, D.C., where it was recorded among the Confederate colors captured during the war.

The flag received the War Department identification number 530 and remained in federal custody for several decades.

On August 1, 1865, Oliver Hughes was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary conduct at Town Creek.

His official citation recognized the capture of the flag of the 11th South Carolina Infantry. The award established his place among the Union soldiers whose individual bravery received national recognition following the Civil War.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the conflict to recognize exceptional military conduct. Congress authorized the Army decoration in 1862, creating an award for soldiers whose courage distinguished them during battle.

Hughes received the original Civil War-era Army Medal of Honor, recognizing an achievement that occurred during the closing stages of the fighting in North Carolina.

He was one of two soldiers of the 12th Kentucky Infantry to receive the Medal of Honor for Civil War service. The other was Captain John H. Brown, recognized for capturing a Confederate flag during the Battle of Franklin in November 1864.

After the war, Hughes returned to civilian life. Local historical accounts indicate that he initially resumed farming before eventually moving to Macon County, Missouri, where he established his later home.

He married Emeline Hughes, whose name is preserved alongside his on their family gravestone. Their daughter, Cora E. Hughes, is also commemorated on the same memorial.

The surviving sources provide relatively little information about Hughes's later occupation and family life beyond these details. His residence in Missouri, however, is confirmed by records from the final years of his life.

In 1905, the War Department returned the captured flag of the 11th South Carolina Infantry to the state of South Carolina as part of the broader return of Confederate battle flags that had remained in federal custody since the war.

The flag's documented history preserved the connection between the Confederate regiment and Hughes's distinguished action at Town Creek four decades earlier.

Oliver Hughes died on January 5, 1911, at his residence on Vine Street in Macon, Missouri, at the age of sixty-six.

A contemporary newspaper notice recorded his death and announced that funeral services would be held at his home before his body was transported by train to Callao, Missouri, for burial.

He was laid to rest in Old Callao Cemetery in Macon County, where his military grave marker commemorates his service as a corporal in Company C of the 12th Kentucky Infantry and identifies him as a Medal of Honor recipient.

Hughes's legacy rests upon a decisive act of battlefield courage during the Union campaign against Wilmington. As Federal troops pressed the Confederate defenders at Town Creek, he captured the colors of the 11th South Carolina Infantry, earning recognition that would endure long after the Civil War ended.

From his beginnings in Fentress County, Tennessee, to his military service with the 12th Kentucky Infantry and his later life in Missouri, Oliver Hughes's story reflects the experiences of Union soldiers from communities divided by the conflict.

His bravery on February 20, 1865, earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place in American military history. The Confederate battle flag he captured at Town Creek remains the defining symbol of his courage and distinguished service.