Peter Grace

Alone Against Two Guards at the Wilderness

Peter Grace was an American Civil War soldier whose extraordinary courage during the Battle of the Wilderness earned him the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration for valor. On May 5, 1864, while serving as a sergeant in Company G of the 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Grace single-handedly rescued a fellow Union soldier from two Confederate guards. He knocked down one captor and compelled the other to surrender, saving his comrade from captivity. His remarkable action became the defining achievement of a military career marked by wounds, imprisonment, and advancement from enlisted soldier to captain.

Born in 1845, Peter Grace was the son of Michael and Marcella Grace. His early life is documented differently in historical sources. Family records place his birth in Ireland and describe his immigration to the United States at approximately three years of age, while later military award records identify Berkshire, Massachusetts, as his birthplace. By the beginning of the Civil War, Grace had established a connection with Pennsylvania, where he would begin his military service.

When the American Civil War broke out in April 1861, Grace was living in Tionesta, Pennsylvania. On August 19, 1861, he enlisted at Erie, joining the growing number of volunteers answering President Abraham Lincoln's call to preserve the Union. He was formally mustered into Company G of the 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on August 28, 1861.

The 83rd Pennsylvania was organized primarily from volunteers in northwestern Pennsylvania. Under Colonel John W. McLane, the regiment entered federal service and became part of the Union Army operating in the eastern theater. Its early assignments included training, defensive duties, and participation in the campaigns that brought Union forces into direct conflict with General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army.

Grace's military service soon exposed him to the dangers of major battlefield engagements. On June 27, 1862, during the Battle of Gaines' Mill in Virginia, he was wounded and captured by Confederate forces. The engagement formed part of the Seven Days Battles, during which Confederate troops attacked the Army of the Potomac as it withdrew from positions near Richmond.

His surviving military record confirms both his wound and capture at Gaines' Mill, although the precise circumstances of his imprisonment and release are not fully established. Despite this experience, Grace subsequently returned to military duty.

On December 13, 1862, Grace was wounded again during the Battle of Fredericksburg. The Union assault against Confederate defensive positions resulted in devastating casualties, and the 83rd Pennsylvania was among the regiments exposed to the dangers of the campaign.

By December 1863, Grace had reenlisted for continued service. His decision extended his military career into a period when the Union Army was preparing a new offensive against Confederate forces in Virginia.

In the spring of 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant launched the Overland Campaign, directing the Army of the Potomac against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The campaign began with a series of brutal engagements intended to maintain pressure on the Confederate army and prevent its withdrawal to more secure positions.

On May 5, 1864, the opposing armies collided in the Wilderness, a densely wooded region of Virginia characterized by thick undergrowth, narrow roads, and limited visibility. The difficult terrain complicated military movements and made battlefield communication exceptionally challenging.

The 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry entered the fighting as part of the Union forces advancing against Confederate positions. Soldiers encountered intense rifle fire amid woods and tangled vegetation, where formations frequently became separated and identifying friendly or enemy troops could be difficult.

During this engagement, Sergeant Peter Grace performed the action that would eventually earn him the Medal of Honor.

A fellow Union soldier had fallen into Confederate hands and was being guarded by two enemy soldiers. Grace acted alone to free his captured comrade, confronting the guards despite the danger involved.

He knocked down one of the Confederate soldiers and forced the other to surrender. By overcoming both guards without assistance, Grace successfully rescued his fellow soldier and prevented his continued captivity.

The official Medal of Honor citation records the essential facts of this extraordinary encounter. Although it does not identify the rescued soldier or provide a detailed description of the confrontation, it establishes that Grace acted independently against two Confederate guards and successfully recovered his comrade.

His achievement demonstrated remarkable initiative and courage during an engagement already marked by confusion and heavy casualties. Rather than allowing the captured soldier to remain in enemy custody, Grace intervened personally and brought the encounter to a successful conclusion.

The Battle of the Wilderness continued through May 7 without producing a decisive victory for either army. Union forces suffered substantial losses, but Grant continued his offensive, directing the Army of the Potomac southward toward Spotsylvania Court House.

Grace's wartime difficulties did not end with his courageous action. On May 8, 1864, only three days after his Medal of Honor engagement, he was captured again during the fighting at Laurel Hill near Spotsylvania. His regimental record confirms this second capture, although the precise duration of his imprisonment has not been established.

Following his return to Union military service, Grace advanced through the commissioned officer ranks. On November 1, 1864, he was promoted to second lieutenant and assigned to Company E of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

His military career continued to progress. On December 28, 1864, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and on March 4, 1865, he attained the rank of captain. These advancements represented a significant progression from the enlisted ranks in which he had begun his military service in 1861.

The closing months of the Civil War brought increasingly intense pressure against the Confederate armies. The 83rd Pennsylvania continued serving with Union forces during the final operations in Virginia, as Confederate defenses weakened and the Union Army advanced toward victory.

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, bringing an end to the principal Confederate resistance in Virginia. Other Confederate armies surrendered during the following weeks.

Grace remained in service after the end of major hostilities. On June 28, 1865, he was mustered out with Company E of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry, completing nearly four years of military service.

His wartime career had included service in major campaigns, multiple battlefield wounds, capture by Confederate forces, and promotion from enlisted soldier to captain. The rescue he performed during the Battle of the Wilderness remained his most distinguished individual military achievement.

Following the war, Grace entered civilian life and became involved in the rapidly developing petroleum industry. He worked in Pennsylvania's oil-producing regions, including the area around Pithole in Venango County, during a period when petroleum exploration was transforming parts of western Pennsylvania.

His later business activities brought him into the development of oil fields and related commercial ventures. Historical family records associate him with petroleum operations in several producing districts, reflecting a civilian career substantially different from his earlier military service.

On April 3, 1873, Grace married Annie May Siggins, a member of a Pennsylvania family whose history was subsequently documented in a genealogical publication. Their children included Gertrude Anna Grace, born in January 1874, and Charles Sumner Grace, born in May 1875.

The family later became associated with Jamestown, New York, where Grace maintained a residence and continued working in the petroleum industry. Local historical research identifies his presence in Jamestown city directories from 1879 through the early twentieth century.

Grace also maintained connections with fellow Union veterans. He was among the founding members of Bradford Post No. 141 of the Grand Army of the Republic, established in Pennsylvania in August 1879. The organization provided former Union soldiers with opportunities for fellowship, commemoration, and assistance in the decades following the war.

Formal national recognition of Grace's battlefield courage came more than thirty years after the Battle of the Wilderness. On December 27, 1894, he received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary action on May 5, 1864.

The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War to recognize exceptional military conduct. Congress authorized the Army decoration in 1862, creating a national award for soldiers whose courage distinguished them during combat.

Grace's award recognized an act of individual bravery that differed from the capture of an enemy flag or the storming of a fortified position. His distinction came from rescuing a fellow soldier who had already fallen into Confederate hands, overcoming two enemy guards without assistance.

The decoration preserved the memory of his courageous intervention during one of the most difficult battles of the Overland Campaign and recognized his contribution to the history of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

Grace continued his civilian life in the years following his Medal of Honor recognition. His family and business associations extended across Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois, where he spent his final years.

Peter Grace died in March 1914, approximately fifty years after his remarkable action at the Wilderness. Historical records differ on the precise day of his death, but they consistently establish that his life ended in 1914.

He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in Section 3, Grave 2556-EH. His resting place commemorates his distinguished service in the Union Army and his recognition with the Medal of Honor.

Peter Grace's legacy rests upon a military career defined by endurance, leadership, and extraordinary personal courage. From his enlistment in Pennsylvania to his advancement through the officer ranks, he experienced some of the Civil War's most difficult campaigns while continuing to serve despite repeated wounds and capture.

His decision to confront two Confederate guards and rescue a fellow Union soldier on May 5, 1864, remains the defining act of his service. For that courageous intervention, Peter Grace received the Medal of Honor, securing his place among the soldiers whose bravery and devotion to their comrades became an enduring part of American military history.