Civil War Veterans Buried In Washington State - John Warden

John Warden

Representing: Union

John Warden
Soldier History

Civil War Medal of Honor recipient. Served as a Corporal in Company E, 55th Illinois Infantry, at the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi. On May 22, 1863, he was a member of the Volunteer Storming Party in the charge against Confederate ammunition barges. His citation was issued on September 2, 1893 and accredited to the State of Illinois.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith

 

On May 22, 1863, GeneralUlysses S. Grantordered an assault on the Confederate heights
atVicksburg, Mississippi. The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge
across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main
attack. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in
nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and
even then, t wice as many men as needed came for ward and were turned away. The assault began
in the early morning following a naval bombardment.
The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch
they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope
were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were
killed. Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.
He moved to Washington after his military service and lived in Orting, Washington, in the
Soldiers Home and is buried in the Orting City Cemetery.
Citation: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure
in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal John Warden, United States Army, for gallantry in
charge of the volunteer storming party on 22 May 1863 while serving with Company E, 55th
Illinois Infantry, in action at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

https://www.suvpnw.org/newsletter

Family History

John Warden Famous memorial

Birth
11 Jun 1841
Cook County, Illinois, USA
Death
2 Jul 1906 (aged 65)
Orting, Pierce County, Washington, USA
Burial
Orting, Pierce County, Washington, USA Show Map
Plot
Section 5, Lot T76
Memorial ID
8066203
Cemetery

Buried at Washington Old Soldiers Home Cemetery Orting
Row: Section 5, Lot T76


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