Sylvester H. Martin

Sylvester Hopkins Martin (August 9, 1841 – September 25, 1927) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the August 19, 1864 Battle of Weldon Railroad (aka Globe Tavern), Virginia.

Sylvester Hopkins Martin
Sylvester Hopkins Martin 1905
Born(1841-08-09)August 9, 1841
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedSeptember 25, 1927(1927-09-25) (aged 86)
Erie, Pennsylvania, US
Place of burial
Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
Union
Service/branch United States Army
Union Army
Years of service1861 - 1865
Rank 1st Lieutenant
UnitPennsylvania 88th Pennsylvania Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Battle of Cedar Mountain
Second Battle of Bull Run
Battle of South Mountain,
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Gettysburg
Bristoe Campaign
Mine Run Campaign
Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
Battle of Totopotomoy Creek
Battle of Cold Harbor
Siege of Petersburg
Battle of Globe Tavern
Battle of Hatcher's Run
AwardsMedal of Honor

Biography

Martin joined as a Private in Company A, 23rd Pennsylvania (Three Month) Volunteer Infantry on April 21, 1861, serving in Maryland and Virginia skirmishing against the rebels before mustering out on July 31, 1861. Committed to the cause the Union, he rejoined as a Private in Company F, 88th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on September 14, 1861. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on November 11, 1862. Transferred to Company K on January 1, 1863, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on February 23, 1863. He was commissioned Captain on January 30, 1865.

He was wounded at Antietam. At chancellorsville, on Sunday, May 3, he was recognized for leading a party of twenty picked men into no man's land to recover entrenching tools that had been abandoned there on Friday and Saturday.[2] At Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, he commanded Company K in the defense of Oak Hill where they inflicted severe casualties on Brig. Gen. Alfred Iverson's brigade.[3] He commanded Company K through the February 7, 1865 Battle of Hatcher's Run.[4] He received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Weldon Railroad, or Globe Tavern on August 19, 1864.[5] Due to the severity of his wounds received at Hatcher's Run, he never actually mustered as a captain before mustering out on June 7, 1865.[6][1]

After the war, Martin returned to Pennsylvania and was elected as a companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

He received his Medal of Honor on April 5, 1894. He died at age 86 and was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in his birthplace.[1]

Medal of Honor citation

Martin's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Lieutenant Sylvester Hopkins Martin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 19 August 1864, while serving with Company K, 88th Pennsylvania Infantry, in action at Weldon Railroad, Virginia. Lieutenant Martin gallantly made a most dangerous reconnaissance, discovering the position of the enemy and enabling the division to repulse an attack made in strong force.[6][1]

See also

Notes/references
  1. VC-MoH.
  2. Vautier (1894), p. 99.
  3. Vautier (1894), pp. 105–109
    Iverson's attacks fared poorly against the 88th and the five other veteran regiments in the brigade of Brig. Gen. Henry Baxter, manning a line in a shallow inverted V, facing north on the ridge behind the Mummasburg Road. Iverson failed to perform even a rudimentary reconnaissance and sent his men forward blindly while he stayed in the rear. The 88th alongside its brigade mates were concealed in woods behind that stone wall and rose to fire withering volleys from less than 100 yards (91 m) away, creating over 800 casualties among the 1,350 North Carolinians. Stories are told about groups of dead bodies lying in almost parade-ground formations, heels of their boots perfectly aligned.
  4. Vautier (1894), p. 206.
  5. Vautier (1894), p. 198.
  6. CMOHS.

Bibliography
  • Vautier, John D (1894). History of the 88th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War for the Union, 1861-1865 (pdf) (1st ed.). Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott Co. pp. 99, 108, 188, 198, 203, 206, 216. OCLC 700958813. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  • "Sylvester Hopkins Martin". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. February 22, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  • "Sylvester Hopkins Martin". The Wall of Valor Project. Hall of Valor: The Military Medals Database. August 8, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  • "Sylvester Hopkins Martin". Medal of Honor Recipients. The Comprehensive Guide to the Victoria & George Cross. December 15, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
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