Robert Milton Boody

Twice braved deadly fire to drag wounded comrades to safety!

Robert Milton Boody was born on March 6, 1843, in Quebec, Canada. As the American Civil War began, he entered Union service and joined Company B of the 40th New York Infantry, a regiment that would fight in some of the war’s most demanding campaigns in the Eastern Theater.

By the spring of 1862, Boody was serving as a corporal during the Peninsula Campaign. On May 5, at the Battle of Williamsburg in Virginia, Union and Confederate forces fought through difficult terrain in heavy rain and mud. During the battle, wounded soldiers were left exposed between the opposing lines.

Boody voluntarily went forward under fire and rescued two wounded comrades from the battlefield. His actions required him to leave comparative safety, enter an area swept by enemy fire, and bring the injured men back. Both men survived because of the assistance he provided.

Boody continued serving with the 40th New York Infantry as the war moved into another year. By May 1863 he had advanced to sergeant and was present at the Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the most violent and confusing engagements fought by the Army of the Potomac.

On May 2, 1863, Boody again risked his life to rescue a wounded soldier. This time the man was Captain George B. Carse of Company C. Boody went into danger, reached the injured officer, and helped bring him away from the battlefield, saving his life.

The two rescue actions, separated by almost exactly one year, became the defining episodes of Boody’s Civil War service. They reflected a repeated willingness to expose himself to enemy fire not for personal advantage, but to save fellow soldiers who could not escape without help.

Boody continued to advance during his military career and ultimately reached the rank of first lieutenant. His service with the 40th New York Infantry placed him among the Union soldiers who endured repeated combat during the long campaigns of the Civil War.

More than three decades after Williamsburg and Chancellorsville, his courage was formally recognized. On July 8, 1896, Robert Milton Boody received the Medal of Honor for the two separate battlefield rescues that had saved the lives of three wounded men.

His wartime service was also represented by the Army Civil War Campaign Medal, which recognized qualifying military service performed during the conflict. Together, the Medal of Honor and the campaign medal reflected both the extraordinary moments for which Boody became known and his broader service as a Union soldier.

Robert Milton Boody died on October 22, 1913. By then, more than fifty years had passed since the first rescue at Williamsburg, but the actions that earned him the Medal of Honor remained an enduring part of his military legacy.

His story is remembered not for a captured flag or a charge against an enemy position, but for the decision to go back for men who had fallen. At Williamsburg and again at Chancellorsville, Boody crossed dangerous ground under fire and brought wounded comrades to safety. Those repeated acts of courage and selflessness earned him the Medal of Honor and secured his place among the recognized heroes of the American Civil War.