Uriah H. Brown (1841–1927) was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War as a member of Company G, 30th Ohio Infantry. He received the Medal of Honor, his country's highest award for bravery during combat, for his actions during the Battle of Vicksburg in Mississippi on 22 May 1863. That award was conferred on August 15, 1894."Brown, Uriah", in "Medal of Honor Recipients: Civil War (A-F)." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army, retrieved online August 5, 2018."Uriah H. Brown", in "The Hall of Valor Project: Awards". Tysons Corner, Virginia: Military Times, Sightline Media Group, retrieved online August 5, 2018.
Formative years Born in Covington, Ohio, on July 4, 1841, Uriah H. Brown was a son of Ohio native William Brown."History of a Hero." Washington, Pennsylvania: Observer-Reporter, May 25, 2013."Uriah Brown", in "Death Records" (Hancock County, West Virginia). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Archives and History, retrieved online August 5, 2018.
Religiously, he was a member of the Protestant denomination known as the Disciples of Christ, and was documented as having been, in later years, a member of the congregation of what is, today, the First Christian Church of Weirton, West Virginia. According to U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller:"Honoring the First Christian Church, Weirton, WV", in Congressional Record—Senate: S9452. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Senate, July 29, 2005.
Members of the [First Christian Church, Weirton] have been faithful in serving their country. One of the church’s original members, in fact, received a Congressional Medal of Honor in 1898. Mr. Uriah Brown received the award for his heroism in the Civil War, especially at the siege of Vicksburg.
Civil War Brown enrolled for Civil War military service at Steubenville, Ohio, in August 1861, and then officially mustered in for duty that same month at Camp Chase as a private with Company G of the 30th Ohio Infantry."Brown, Uriah H.", in U.S. Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War (Hanover Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 1890.Brinkerhoff, Lieut. Henry R. History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, From Its Organization to the Fall of Vicksburg, Miss. ("Enlisted Men Wounded in Action"). Columbus, Ohio: James W. Osgood, Printer, 1863, p. 5.
Armed and equipped over the next two days, Pvt. Brown and his fellow 30th Ohio Infantrymen were then ordered into the field. Departing from Columbus aboard passenger cars via the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, they arrived in Benwood, Virginia, where they transferred to a freight train for further transport to Clarksburg. Arriving on September 2, they immediately began preparations to join the Union Army troops which were under the command of Brigadier-General William Rosecrans. Marching for Weston during the evening, they were ordered to make camp around midnight. The next morning, they resumed their march and, upon reaching Weston, made camp near the 47th Ohio Infantry. Marching again on September 5, they connected with Rosecrans' army near Sutton.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 7–8.
Although part of the 30th Ohio was ordered onward to Little Birch Mountain and Summersville to guard the wagon train accompanying Rosecrans' forces, Pvt. Brown and his fellow members of G Company were directed to remain behind with the men from Companies D, F and I. Consequently, when part of the 30th Ohio engaged in fighting with Confederate troops at Carnifex Ferry on September 10, the men of G Company (including Brown) were not involved. Having remained behind near Sutton, the men from Companies D, F, G, and I were sent out periodically on a series of scouting and skirmish parties. During one of these forays, men from Companies G and I encountered and engaged with Confederate troops near Crites Mountain on November 13 and 14. Having successfully pushed Confederate troops out of what is, today, West Virginia, Rosecrans ordered his army into winter quarters in late November 1861. Various men were then sent out as part of detachments to track down bushwhackers, assist families loyal to the Union, and serve on picket duties throughout the month of December. Following their participation in a dress parade on Christmas Day, 30th Ohioans then celebrated the holiday with food and entertainment.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 8–18.
1862 to early 1863 Assigned to occupation duties at Fayetteville during the winter and early spring of 1862, the 30th Ohio marched in April for Raleigh and then Princeton, where they remained until early May. Heading for Giles Court House May 10, they ultimately made camp near the East River. While there, food supplies began to run short, and men were rationed to one piece of hardtack per day with supplements of rice and beans until those supplies also ran out. Ordered to march back to Princeton the next day, many men left their warmer clothing, blankets and tents behind in order to lighten their loads – a mistake they would soon come to regret. Marching for Raleigh early the next morning, they were ordered to make camp at the top of the Great Flat Top Mountain on May 19. While there, they battled the cold and rain until they were able to erect sturdy shelters. After finally being re-equipped with tents and other supplies, they were then ordered to move to a site near Camp Bark, where they established a more comfortable headquarters, complete with a bakery and shower. Remaining at "Camp Jones" through mid-August, Pvt. Brown and his fellow 30th Ohioans drilled regularly with bayonets.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 20–29.
Marching August 19 for Brownstown, 95 miles away, the regiment made, broke and re-made camp at several points along the way, including at McCoys and just outside of Fayetteville and Cannelton. Boarding a steamer at Brownstown, they next found themselves at Blannerhasset Island in Ohio before being permitted to enter Parkersburg for rest and refreshment.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 29–31.
Ordered back to eastern Virginia before month's end, the regiment departed once again by rail. Passing through Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia on August 23, the 30th Ohioans encamped in Warrenton, were assigned to picket duty at Catlett's Station and Bristoe Station, and helped to repel the enemy near Centerville and Fairfax Court House before joining the Union Army's Kanawha Division in early September. Commanded by General Marcus Reno, the Kanawha was part of the massive Union force led by General Ambrose Burnside. Marching for Georgetown in the District of Columbia on September 6, the 30th Ohio was positioned to defend Washington, D.C. from advancing Confederate forces before marching on toward New Market and Frederick City, where they were moved into the line of battle, and helped to drive off the enemy in order to retake the city.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 31–40.
Battered by artillery at Lamb's Field and Farmer's Gap on its advance toward the Antietam as part of the Kanawha Division during the early weeks of September, the regiment lost several of its men as it engaged with the enemy. During the morning of September 17, the 30th Ohioans were among those placed near the head of the advance as the Union Army engaged in the Battle of Antietam. According to Brinkerhoff, "the balls flew like hail through the corn and many a brave soldier fell," including the regiment's two color-bearers, who had become the rallying point for the 30th Ohio during the confusing carnage on the smoke-obscured battlefield that day. "The National Color was torn in fourteen places by enemy's balls, and the Regimental color, though not so often struck, still [bore] the marks of this bloody field" in 1863 when Brinkerhoff set pen to paper to chronicle the regiment's early days. "Shortly after retiring before the superior force of Hill's Division, a heavy column of [the 30th Ohio] marched down from the right and drove the enemy back to the road. On the morning of the eighteenth, "our entire line, from right to left, occupied the ground held by the enemy on the preceding morning, and held possession of his strongest position." At noon the regiment was ordered back to the site where it had camped two days earlier. On September 19, they gathered and buried their dead. The men of the 30th Ohio were among those reviewed by President Abraham Lincoln and General George B. McClellan several weeks later. During the opening weeks of October, they continued to pursue the enemy, moving back and for across Virginia as they did so. Following a reorganization of their Division (the Kanawha) in early November, the 30th Ohio was ordered into winter quarters, and made camp near Cannelton mid-month. Ordered to march for Brownstown November 30, the regiment reached there the next day, and re-encamped near Len's Creek.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 41–51.
Throughout early December, the regiment moved repeatedly, crossing and re-crossing creeks, flat ground and higher mountains en route to the Logan Court House during the daytime, and bedding down for the night in deserted homes which dotted the countryside, all the while searching for Confederate troops. After capturing 19 of the enemy and 75 horses, the 30th Ohioans turned over the enemy men to Union authorities at Brownstown. Briefly re-encamped from December 9–13, the regiment moved on in pursuit of the enemy. Boarding the flagship of the Union troops commanded by General Charles Ewing, the regiment sailed from Brownstown, and disembarked on January 3, 1863, at Louisville, Kentucky, where it made came near the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Boarding the Silver Moon on January 9, Pvt. Brown and his fellow 30th Ohioans sailed again — this time, headed southwest — down the Ohio River and toward Vicksburg, Mississippi. Following their transfer at Memphis, Tennessee to the Prima Donna and further sailing, they disembarked at Helena, where they were attached to General David Steward's Division in Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman's 15th U.S. Army.Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 51–54.
Moved to Young's Point, Louisiana, the 30th Ohioans continued on toward Vicksburg, positioning themselves at the mouth of the canal just outside of the city. While here, they helped strengthen Union fortifications and improve the canal to facilitate the movement of Union troops and supplies. Moved to a site above Vicksburg sometime in late February, they encamped there until receiving orders to sail again. Disembarking at Eagle Bend, part of the regiment discovered plans for Confederate troop movements and other important documents at the abandoned mansion of U.S. Senator William M. Gwin on March 17 while the remainder of the regiment continued on until disembarking at Hill's plantation on March 21. Fully reconstituted the next day, the regiment moved on, leaving small detachments of its men at three different villas — "Reality", "Good Intent", and Kelsey's, where they discovered a large number of cotton bales marked "C.S.A". Ordered back to Louisiana later that month, the 30th Ohioans sailed aboard the gunboats Cincinnati and Mound City, disembarking again at Young's Point on March 28. Ordered to assemble with other Union troops at "General Blair's headquarters", they were present for the April 21 address by Brigadier-General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, during which he announced President Lincoln's intention "to arm the negroes and to officer them from the army."Brinkerhoff, History of the Thirtieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, pp. 54–59.