Richard Enderlin

He Took Up a Rifle and Entered Enemy Fire

Richard Enderlin was born on January 11, 1843, in Baden, Germany. He later settled in Ohio and enlisted in Company B of the 73rd Ohio Infantry in November 1861, entering Union service during the American Civil War.

Enderlin served as a musician, a military role normally associated with signaling and regimental duties rather than fighting in the infantry line. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, however, he voluntarily stepped beyond that role.

During the first two days of the battle, Enderlin took up a rifle and fought alongside the infantrymen of his regiment. Gettysburg had become one of the largest and most violent battles of the war, and the 73rd Ohio was engaged amid the desperate struggle surrounding the Union position.

On the night of July 2, Enderlin learned that a wounded comrade, Private George Nixon, was lying between the opposing lines. Rather than leave him exposed, Enderlin voluntarily moved into the dangerous ground separating Union and Confederate positions.

Under enemy fire, Enderlin reached the wounded soldier and brought him back toward the Union lines. The rescue required him to enter an area dominated by opposing fire at a time when the battlefield remained active and dangerous.

His conduct at Gettysburg demonstrated two distinct acts of courage: first, voluntarily fighting with a rifle despite serving as a musician, and then risking his life to recover a wounded comrade from between the lines.

Enderlin continued serving after Gettysburg and later rose to the rank of sergeant. During the campaigning of 1864, he was wounded and subsequently transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, where soldiers who could no longer perform full field duty often continued their military service.

More than three decades after Gettysburg, Enderlin's actions received the nation's highest military recognition. On September 11, 1897, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for voluntarily taking up arms during the battle and for risking his life to rescue a wounded fellow soldier.

After the war, Enderlin returned to Ohio. He lived for many decades after the conflict and died on February 11, 1930, in Chillicothe, Ohio. He was buried at Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe.

Richard Enderlin's Medal of Honor legacy began with a decision to do more than his assigned duty required. As a musician at Gettysburg, he chose to fight beside the infantry and later entered enemy fire to bring a wounded comrade back from the battlefield.