Walter Goodale Morrill

He Joined the Storming Party Without Orders

Walter Goodale Morrill was born in Williamsburg, Maine, in 1840 and came of age just as the United States was descending into civil war. At twenty years old, he entered Union service as a sergeant in Company A of the 6th Maine Infantry. His early service placed him in a regiment that saw demanding campaigning in the eastern theater, giving the young soldier experience that would soon lead to greater responsibility.

Morrill’s military ability brought advancement. On October 8, 1862, he received a commission as a lieutenant in Company B of the 20th Maine Infantry. The regiment would become one of Maine’s most celebrated Civil War units, and Morrill’s own career became closely tied to its history. On July 1, 1863, he was promoted to captain and took command of Company B, immediately before the regiment entered one of the most famous battles of the war.

At Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, the 20th Maine was ordered to defend the extreme left of the Union position on Little Round Top. Confederate attacks threatened to turn the Union flank, and the regiment fought a desperate action to hold the hill. Morrill and men of Company B operated as skirmishers apart from the main regimental line. During the climactic phase of the fighting, as the 20th Maine launched its celebrated bayonet advance, Morrill’s men struck from an unexpected direction and added to the confusion among the withdrawing Confederate troops. His contribution formed part of the combined effort that preserved the Union position on Little Round Top.

Only a few months later, Morrill performed the action for which he would ultimately receive the Medal of Honor. On November 7, 1863, Union forces attacked Confederate defenses at Rappahannock Station, Virginia. Morrill learned that troops from other commands were preparing to assault the enemy works. Rather than remain with his assigned position, he voluntarily joined the storming party with approximately fifty men of the 20th Maine.

The attack demanded soldiers willing to advance directly against prepared defenses. Morrill brought his detachment forward to support the assault, including men of his former regiment, the 6th Maine Infantry. His official Medal of Honor citation emphasized his initiative and conduct, recognizing that he voluntarily joined the storming party and, through his dash and gallantry, rendered effective service during the assault. The citation did not rely on an elaborate description of a single dramatic act; instead, it recognized the courage involved in choosing to participate in the dangerous attack and the effectiveness of his leadership once committed to it.

Rappahannock Station became an important Union success, and Morrill’s conduct there established the action for which he would later receive the nation’s highest military decoration. His recognition, however, did not come immediately. Like a number of Civil War Medal of Honor recipients, his award was granted decades after the fighting. On April 5, 1898, Morrill received the Medal of Honor for his gallantry at Rappahannock Station.

His Civil War service continued long after that November 1863 assault. Morrill remained with the 20th Maine through further campaigning as the Union armies pressed deeper into Virginia. The regiment endured the demanding operations of the final years of the war, and Morrill continued to rise in responsibility. On March 13, 1865, he became a full lieutenant colonel. Near the end of the conflict he assumed command responsibilities with the 20th Maine, completing a remarkable progression from an enlisted sergeant in 1861 to one of the regiment’s senior officers by the closing weeks of the war.

When the Civil War ended, Morrill returned to civilian life in Maine. His postwar years were active rather than secluded. After pursuing several business interests, he settled in Pittsfield in 1885, where he became involved in the local livery business and operated the Union Trotting Park. He developed a reputation in Maine’s harness-racing community as a race promoter and became associated with events that offered substantial purses and opportunities that included women drivers, an unusual feature of racing promotion during that period.

Morrill also maintained strong ties with his fellow Union veterans. He belonged to Stephen Davis Post No. 11 of the Grand Army of the Republic, the influential organization of former Union soldiers and sailors. He regularly participated in commemorative activities and was closely associated with Memorial Day observances in Pittsfield. As the decades passed and the Civil War generation grew smaller, Morrill became a living connection between the community and the soldiers who had fought in the conflict.

His Medal of Honor further preserved the memory of his wartime service. The decoration recognized the decision he made at Rappahannock Station in 1863, when, already responsible for his own company, he voluntarily took men forward to reinforce a dangerous assault. Combined with his service at Gettysburg and his later command responsibilities, the episode reflected a military career marked by repeated willingness to accept difficult assignments.

Walter Goodale Morrill died on March 3, 1935, at the age of ninety-four. His death brought public expressions of respect in Pittsfield, where he had spent much of his later life. He was buried in Pittsfield Village Cemetery in Maine.

From a twenty-year-old enlisted sergeant to a lieutenant colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry, Morrill’s Civil War career traced an extraordinary rise through courage, experience, and leadership. His part in the defense of Little Round Top connected him to one of Gettysburg’s defining episodes, while his voluntary advance at Rappahannock Station earned him the Medal of Honor. His long life after the war allowed him to help carry the memory of the Union veteran generation well into the twentieth century, leaving a legacy rooted in battlefield service, community involvement, and an act of gallantry remembered decades after the guns fell silent.