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| The reverse of his Medal of Honor. |
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| Courtesy Bart Armstrong, ymart@shaw.ca Thank you! |
George Washington Emmons and many of his brothers
in arms in the 27th Maine were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War for their actions in defense of Washington,
D.C. Controversy soon surrounded the decision, and the tale is well told in John Pullen's "Shower of Stars, The Medal of Honor
and the 27th Maine."
G.W. Emmons is my great-great grandfather. He served with my great
grandfather George Washington Gordon in the 27th and 32nd Maine during the Civil War. They were neighbors in Lyman, Maine
before and after the war, and it came to pass that GWG married GWE's daughter Hattie in 1884. GWG was 43, and Hattie was just
16 and a half. GWE is buried less than a mile from GWG in Lyman, still and forever neighbors.
Background information on the 27th Maine and their Medals of Honor
can be found on-line:
"The History of the Twenty-Seventh Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry" an
1895 book by Lt Col Stone:
According to 'Alexander Gordon and his Descendants' by Otis, George W.
Gordon was "one of the volunteers who guarded the White House when it was under threat of bombing." It doesn't seem the record
reflects this bit of family history, though.
| GWE is at rest in Lyman, not far from GW Gordon. |
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| GWG married GWE's daughter after the war. |
| The Battle of the Crater was one of the Union's |
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| most bitter and costly defeats. |
Many thanks are owed to Bart Armstrong, a researcher
I met through Clarence Woodcock's "Maine in the Civil War" message board. Thank you, Bart!
Cousins! Bart is writing a book about the 70+ Canadian
MOH recipiants! Please, if you have any input or questions,
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