Stephen Welch

He Ran Into Enemy Fire to Save a Wounded Comrade

Stephen Welch was born on June 14, 1824, in Groton, New York. When the American Civil War began, he entered the United States Army and served with Company C of the 154th New York Infantry. His military career would take him through hard campaigning, capture by Confederate forces, promotion, and one extraordinary rescue under fire that later earned him the Medal of Honor.

Welch entered service in 1862 and initially served as a sergeant. The 154th New York Infantry became part of the Union forces operating in the Eastern Theater before eventually moving west, where the regiment participated in campaigns that carried it into Georgia.

His wartime experience was already severe before the action for which he became famous. During the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, Welch was captured by Confederate forces. After returning to Union service, he continued with his regiment rather than allowing his period as a prisoner of war to end his military career.

By the spring of 1864, the 154th New York Infantry was participating in the Atlanta Campaign. Union armies were pushing southward through northern Georgia against Confederate forces defending the approaches to Atlanta. One of the first major obstacles was the rugged terrain around Rocky Face Ridge.

On May 8, 1864, Welch and his regiment fought near Dug Gap, Georgia.

The Confederate position was naturally strong. Steep slopes, narrow approaches, and defensive fire made movement across the battlefield extremely dangerous. Union soldiers advancing against the ridge faced both difficult terrain and enemy fire from prepared positions.

During the fighting, a fellow soldier was wounded and left exposed.

The man was Corporal George W. Greek of Company C, a member of the regiment’s color guard. With Confederate fire still sweeping the area, reaching him meant entering a place where another soldier could easily be killed or wounded.

Welch chose to go.

Together with fellow soldier Charles W. McKay, he moved into the dangerous ground and helped bring the wounded corporal away from the battlefield.

The rescue did not eliminate the danger to Welch. He had to expose himself to enemy fire in order to reach Greek and then help carry him back toward safety. His Medal of Honor citation later summarized the act directly: he risked his life to rescue a wounded comrade under fire of the enemy.

Greek ultimately died from his wounds, but Welch’s effort to save him became one of the defining moments of the regiment’s service at Dug Gap.

The act was not based on a dramatic attack against an enemy position or the capture of a flag. Welch’s heroism came from a decision to move toward a wounded comrade when the safest choice would have been to remain under cover. He accepted the possibility of becoming a casualty himself in order to try to save another soldier.

Welch continued serving after the battle. His responsibilities increased, and over the course of his military career he advanced beyond the enlisted ranks. He eventually reached the rank of captain, the highest verified rank associated with his service.

Years passed before his action at Dug Gap received national recognition.

On April 13, 1894, Stephen Welch was awarded the Medal of Honor for the courage he displayed on May 8, 1864. The decoration recognized the specific act for which his name entered the official record: risking his own life under enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade.

The Medal of Honor had been created during the Civil War, but many veterans did not receive formal recognition until decades after the actions for which they were honored. Welch belonged to that group. His award came almost thirty years after the fighting in Georgia, when the surviving veterans of the conflict were already entering old age.

His Medal of Honor therefore connected two very different moments in his life: the battlefield of 1864 and the national recognition that followed in 1894.

Welch lived for more than four decades after the Civil War. Photographs preserved from his life show him both as a soldier and later as a veteran, including images associated with his Medal of Honor. These surviving portraits provide a direct visual link to the man whose courage had been recorded at Dug Gap.

He died on March 30, 1906, and was buried in Allegany Cemetery in Allegany, New York.

Stephen Welch’s military story was shaped by endurance as much as by one moment of heroism. He experienced hard campaigning, captivity, return to service, promotion, and combat in both the Eastern and Western theaters.

Yet his legacy is centered on a simple decision made under fire.

A wounded soldier lay exposed on the battlefield. Reaching him was dangerous. Carrying him away was even more dangerous.

Welch went anyway.

That choice—to risk his own life for another man—became the act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor and the moment that continues to define his place in American military history.