Horace Capron Jr.

Horace Capron Jr. (October 27, 1839 – February 6, 1864) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Capron received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action at Chickahominy and Ashland in Virginia in June 1862.[1]

Horace Capron Jr.
Born(1839-10-27)October 27, 1839
Laurel, Maryland, U.S.
DiedFebruary 6, 1864(1864-02-06) (aged 24)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Buried
Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum, Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1861–1864
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitIllinois 8th Illinois Cavalry
Illinois 14th Illinois Cavalry
Awards Medal of Honor

Biography

Capron was born in Laurel, Maryland, on October 27, 1839.[lower-alpha 1][1][2] The 1860 U.S. census identifies him as the son of head-of-household Horace Capron in Peoria, Illinois.[3]

He joined the 8th Illinois Cavalry at Peoria as a corporal in September 1861, and was promoted to sergeant in 1862.[4] He was later commissioned as a first lieutenant of the 14th Illinois Cavalry, his father's regiment.[5] Capron's horse was killed during a skirmish in September 1863 near Kingsport, Tennessee.[6]

Capron was mortally wounded on February 2, 1864, during a charge near Qualla Town, North Carolina.[7] He died from his wounds on February 6, 1864,[5] in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he had been transported.[8] His remains are interred at the Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum in Peoria. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on September 27, 1865.[4][9][10]

Medal of Honor citation

Gallantry in action.[4][9]

See also

Notes
  1. While his tombstone identifies his birth year as 1840, a family website cites a FamilySearch "Maryland Births and Christenings" publication that lists Capron's birth on October 27, 1839. The Martyrs and Heroes of Illinois in the Great Rebellion, 1865, also gives this date.[2]

References
  1. Meyer, Eugene L. (June 22, 2000). "Courage Remembered". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  2. Barnet, James, ed. (1865). The Martyrs and Heroes of Illinois in the Great Rebellion. Chicago: The Press of J. Barnet. p. 191. Retrieved February 25, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  3. "Person Page – 78: Horace Capron, Jr". Connecting Capron Cousins. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  4. "Civil War (A–L) Medal of Honor Recipients". U.S. Army. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  5. "Horace Capron Civil War Timeline". Laurel Historical Society. Feb 6, 1864 entry. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  6. Sanford, W. L. (1898). History of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry (PDF). Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons. p. 70. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  7. Sanford 1898, pp. 151–152.
  8. Sanford 1898, p. 154.
  9. "Horace Capron, Jr". Military Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  10. "U.S. Army Medal of Honor Recipients". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
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