| Benjamin W. Schenck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 12, 1837 Butler County, Ohio |
| Died | February 19, 1916 (aged 78) |
| Buried | Decatur, Illinois |
| Allegiance |  |
| Service/ |  |
| Rank |  |
| Unit |  |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Awards |  |
Benjamin W. Schenck (August 12, 1837 – February 19, 1916) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. [1]
During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.
The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.
The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor." Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".
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Schenck was born in Butler County, Ohio on August 12, 1837, and entered service at Maroa, Illinois. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary heroism on May 22, 1863, while serving as a Private with Company D, 116th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, at Vicksburg, Mississippi. His Medal of Honor was issued on August 14, 1894. [2]
Butler County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 during St. Clair's Defeat. Located along the Miami River, it is home to Miami University, an Ohio public university that was founded in 1809 as the second university in the State of Ohio.
Maroa is a city in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,654 at the 2000 census, and 1,565 at a 2009 estimate. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
A private is a soldier of the lowest military rank.
He died at the age of 78, on February 19, 1916, and was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Decatur, Illinois.
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 76,122 as of the 2010 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2017, the city's estimated population was 72,174.
