William Bliss Hincks

He Crossed the Wall and Seized the Enemy Flag

William Bliss Hincks served in the United States Army during the American Civil War and became one of the soldiers whose courage at Gettysburg was later recognized with the Medal of Honor. His military record is most closely associated with the 14th Connecticut Infantry, a Union regiment that served in the Army of the Potomac. By the summer of 1863, Hincks had risen to the rank of Sergeant Major, placing him among the regiment’s senior enlisted soldiers.

In July 1863, Union and Confederate armies converged on Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in what became the largest and one of the most consequential battles of the Civil War. The fighting lasted for three days, from July 1 through July 3. Hincks and the 14th Connecticut Infantry occupied part of the Union position on Cemetery Ridge, where the final Confederate assault would strike on the battle’s third day.

On July 3, Confederate forces launched the massive infantry attack remembered as Pickett’s Charge. Thousands of soldiers advanced across open ground toward the Union center on Cemetery Ridge while artillery and rifle fire swept the battlefield. The 14th Connecticut Infantry was among the Union units positioned to resist the assault.

During the fighting, the colors of the 14th Tennessee Infantry came into view in front of the Union position. Regimental flags carried enormous practical and symbolic importance during Civil War battles. They helped soldiers maintain formation amid smoke and confusion, served as rallying points, and represented the identity and honor of the regiment carrying them. Capturing an enemy flag was therefore considered a significant battlefield achievement.

When an opportunity arose to recover the Confederate colors, Hincks volunteered. Leaving the protection of the Union line, he crossed the wall and moved forward into the contested ground. He reached the flag of the 14th Tennessee Infantry, seized it, and returned with the captured colors.

The action took place while the Confederate assault was still being broken apart in front of Cemetery Ridge. Hincks did not perform the deed from a position of command removed from the fighting. He was a Sergeant Major operating directly in the combat zone, exposing himself while recovering an enemy regimental flag during one of the most intense moments of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Pickett’s Charge ultimately failed. Confederate formations were driven back from the Union center after suffering severe losses, and the defeat ended General Robert E. Lee’s attempt to break the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg. The following day, the Confederate army began withdrawing toward Virginia. Gettysburg became a defining Union victory and a major turning point in the war.

Hincks continued his military service after Gettysburg. His career did not end with the famous action on Cemetery Ridge, and he later advanced beyond his enlisted rank. His highest verified military rank was Major, reflecting the progression of a soldier who had been a Sergeant Major when he performed the deed for which he would be nationally recognized.

Recognition for the captured Confederate flag did not come immediately after the battle. More than a year later, in 1864, Hincks was awarded the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Gettysburg. The award record specifically centered on his capture of the flag of the 14th Tennessee Infantry on July 3, 1863.

The Medal of Honor had been created during the Civil War as a national military decoration for extraordinary service. At the time, the United States did not possess the extensive system of personal military decorations developed in later generations. The Medal of Honor therefore became the principal federal recognition for acts of exceptional battlefield courage and distinguished military conduct.

Hincks’s Medal of Honor was issued on December 1, 1864. Several days later, on December 6, the decoration was formally presented to him by Major General George G. Meade near Petersburg, Virginia. The presentation connected two important stages of his wartime service: the heroic action at Gettysburg in 1863 and his continued duty with the Union Army during the difficult campaigns of 1864.

The award carried no additional device or clasp. Its significance rested entirely on the individual act for which it was granted—the recovery of an enemy regimental flag during the final Confederate assault against Cemetery Ridge.

Hincks’s story illustrates the importance of enlisted leadership during Civil War combat. As Sergeant Major, he occupied a position of considerable responsibility within his regiment, yet the action that defined his legacy was intensely personal. When the opportunity came to recover the enemy colors, he left the relative protection of the Union line and went forward himself.

His later advancement to Major added another chapter to a career already marked by one of Gettysburg’s memorable acts of individual bravery. The distinction between his ranks is important: he was a Sergeant Major during the Medal of Honor action, while Major was the highest rank he later attained.

William Bliss Hincks is remembered primarily for those moments on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863. Against the backdrop of Pickett’s Charge, he crossed beyond the Union position, recovered the colors of the 14th Tennessee Infantry, and returned with them. More than a year later, the United States formally recognized that action with the Medal of Honor.

His legacy remains tied to one of the most famous battles in American history. Gettysburg was fought by tens of thousands of soldiers, yet its history was also shaped by individual decisions made in seconds. Hincks’s decision to go forward for the enemy flag transformed one moment of combat into a lasting record of courage and secured his place among the Medal of Honor recipients of the Civil War.