William W. Henry

William Wirt Henry was an American soldier, businessman, public official, and Medal of Honor recipient whose life extended from the antebellum years through the American Civil War and into the early twentieth century. Born on November 21, 1831, in Waterbury, Vermont, he grew up in a family that was active in local civic affairs. His early life gave little indication that he would eventually become one of Vermont’s distinguished Civil War officers and rise to the honorary rank of Brevet Brigadier General. Henry was educated in Waterbury and spent a short period at People’s Academy in Morrisville. As a young man he briefly worked as a schoolteacher. Like thousands of Americans attracted by the California Gold Rush, he later traveled west seeking opportunity. His years in California included prospecting as well as business activities, including involvement with a store and boarding house when mining conditions made gold extraction difficult. He eventually returned to Vermont in 1857 and joined his family’s drug business. In August 1857, Henry married Mary Jane Beebe of Waterbury. He settled into civilian and commercial life, but the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 dramatically changed the direction of his career. As the Union mobilized troops, Henry left his business interests and entered military service. Henry received a commission as First Lieutenant in Company D of the 2nd Vermont Volunteer Infantry. His regiment entered Federal service during the opening months of the Civil War, and Henry soon experienced combat during the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. The battle ended in a Union defeat and demonstrated that the conflict would be longer and more destructive than many Americans had initially expected. Illness complicated Henry’s first period of military service. While stationed around Washington, D.C., he suffered from measles and serious respiratory problems that resulted in a period of sick leave. He subsequently resigned his commission on November 5, 1861. His departure did not mark the end of his military career, however. After spending part of 1862 working with his family’s commercial interests, Henry returned to the Army. He entered the newly organized 10th Vermont Infantry as a Major. This second period of service would define his military reputation and eventually lead to his Medal of Honor. The 10th Vermont Infantry initially served in the defenses and operational areas around Washington, the Potomac River, Maryland, and northern Virginia. Henry’s responsibilities increased steadily. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and later became Colonel of the regiment. By 1864 he was commanding the 10th Vermont Infantry during some of the most demanding campaigns of the Civil War. During the spring of 1864, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began the Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Henry and the 10th Vermont participated in the exhausting operations that followed. The campaign involved nearly continuous marching and fighting as Union forces attempted to maintain pressure on Lee rather than withdraw after major engagements. Henry’s regiment saw difficult service during the fighting around Spotsylvania Court House. The campaign then continued southeast toward Cold Harbor. During the Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864, Henry was wounded. A bullet struck his hand and caused the loss of part of a finger. Contemporary reports incorrectly suggested that he had been struck in the head or even killed, but Henry survived and returned to military service. Despite his wound, Henry continued as commander of the 10th Vermont Infantry. His leadership during the summer of 1864 placed him in further combat as Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early moved through the Shenandoah Valley and threatened the approaches to Washington. In July 1864, Henry and his regiment were involved in operations against Early’s forces in Maryland. During the intense fighting associated with the Union attempt to slow the Confederate advance, Henry’s troops helped conduct a determined delaying and rear-guard action. His conduct earned favorable recognition from senior Union commanders. The strategic importance of these operations was considerable. Although Union forces could not immediately destroy Early’s army, their resistance delayed the Confederate advance and provided valuable time for reinforcements to strengthen Washington’s defenses. Henry and his regiment consequently became part of the broader campaign that ultimately prevented Early from achieving lasting strategic success. Later in 1864, Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley came under the command of Major General Philip H. Sheridan. Sheridan launched a determined campaign against Early’s Confederate army, seeking both to destroy the military threat in the Valley and deny the Confederacy access to the agricultural resources of the region. The defining event of William Wirt Henry’s military career occurred on October 19, 1864, at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia. Confederate forces launched a surprise attack in the early morning and initially achieved major success. Union units were driven from their positions, artillery pieces were abandoned or captured, and parts of the Federal army fell back in considerable disorder. During the fighting, Colonel Henry was wounded. Despite suffering from his injuries, he returned to his regiment rather than withdraw permanently from the battlefield. At a critical stage of the Union counterattack, he resumed command and led the 10th Vermont Infantry forward. Henry’s men participated in a powerful charge during the Union recovery. Under his leadership, the regiment advanced against Confederate forces and helped recapture guns from an artillery battery that had earlier been abandoned during the Union retreat. This action became the basis for Henry’s Medal of Honor. His official citation recognized that, although suffering from severe wounds, he rejoined his regiment and led it in a brilliant charge that resulted in the recapture of the abandoned artillery pieces. The Battle of Cedar Creek eventually became a major Union victory. Sheridan’s forces recovered from the disastrous morning attack and drove Early’s army from the battlefield. The defeat seriously weakened Confederate military power in the Shenandoah Valley and contributed to the Union’s growing strategic dominance during the final months of the war. Henry remained with the Army only a short time after Cedar Creek. His wartime service had taken a substantial physical toll, and on December 17, 1864, he resigned from active service. His fellow officers publicly recognized his leadership and service as he prepared to return to Vermont. In March 1865, Henry received the honorary rank of Brevet Brigadier General in recognition of his distinguished Civil War service. This was the highest verified military rank associated with his career. His substantive rank during the Medal of Honor action at Cedar Creek had been Colonel, while Brevet Brigadier General represented his later and highest recognized rank. Henry’s extraordinary conduct at Cedar Creek was formally recognized many years after the war. On December 21, 1892, he received the Medal of Honor for his actions of October 19, 1864. The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War. Congress authorized the Army version in 1862 to recognize soldiers who distinguished themselves through exceptional gallantry and soldierly conduct. During the nineteenth century, many Civil War veterans received the decoration years or decades after the actions for which they were honored as military records and recommendations were reviewed. For Henry, nearly twenty-eight years separated the Battle of Cedar Creek from the formal presentation of his Medal of Honor. The award permanently identified his return to command while wounded and his leadership in the successful charge to recover the artillery as the defining act of courage in his military career. The verified decoration included in William Wirt Henry’s final medal record is the Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army. No clasp, star, or additional device has been verified for the decoration, and no additional medal has sufficient recipient-specific evidence to be included in his final verified rack. After returning to Vermont, Henry resumed civilian business activities. He became involved again with the family pharmaceutical and drug enterprise. The business later moved to Burlington and developed into significant wholesale and proprietary medicine operations. Henry’s postwar career demonstrated the same organizational ability that had helped him progress rapidly through military command. His public service also became extensive. Henry entered Vermont politics and served in the Vermont Senate, representing Washington County during the years immediately following the Civil War. Many years later, he again served in the state legislature representing Chittenden County. Henry became one of Burlington’s prominent civic figures. From 1887 to 1889, he served as Mayor of Burlington. His transition from regimental commander to municipal leadership reflected the prominent roles that many Civil War veterans assumed in American political and community life during the postwar decades. His federal service was equally notable. Henry served for several years as United States Marshal for the District of Vermont and also worked as a United States immigration inspector. These responsibilities extended his public career far beyond his wartime service. From 1897 until 1907, Henry served as an American consul in Quebec, Canada. His assignment gave him an international diplomatic role late in life and strengthened his already long-standing connection with Canada. Henry had developed a particular affection for the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. Beginning in the 1870s, he and friends traveled there for fishing expeditions. Their recurring trips eventually developed into the St. Bernard Fish and Game Club, formally incorporated in 1899. Henry became recognized as one of the central figures in the organization and retained his association with it for the remainder of his life. His personal life included considerable loss as well as achievement. His first wife, Mary Jane, died in 1871. Henry later married Valeria “Lillie” Heaton in 1872. Members of his immediate family also experienced the effects of the Civil War; one of his younger brothers, James Edwin Henry, served as an officer and was killed during the final campaign around Petersburg in April 1865. As the decades passed, Henry remained closely connected with the memory of the Civil War. His surviving letters, commissions, military papers, maps, photographs, and other documents became an important record of the experiences of a Vermont officer who served from the opening year of the conflict through the final campaigns of 1864. William Wirt Henry died on August 31, 1915, at the age of eighty-three. He was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Burlington, Vermont. By the time of his death, more than half a century had passed since the Battle of Cedar Creek, yet the actions of October 19, 1864 remained the central event in his military legacy. Henry’s life combined several distinct careers. He had been a teacher, California gold seeker, businessman, Civil War officer, state legislator, mayor, federal marshal, immigration official, diplomat, and outdoorsman. His military record alone carried him from First Lieutenant in the 2nd Vermont Infantry to command of the 10th Vermont Infantry and finally to recognition as a Brevet Brigadier General. Above all, his Medal of Honor preserved the moment for which he is most remembered. Wounded during the desperate fighting at Cedar Creek, Colonel William Wirt Henry returned to his regiment, resumed leadership, and led his soldiers in a successful charge that recovered abandoned Union artillery. His Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army remains the enduring symbol of that courage. It represents not only a single charge at Cedar Creek, but the culmination of years of demanding Civil War service, repeated exposure to combat, serious wounds, increasing command responsibility, and steadfast leadership during one of the decisive campaigns of the war.