Henry W. Downs | |
Birth Date: | 29 August 1844 |
Birth Place: | Jamaica, Vermont, U.S. |
Death Place: | Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
Placeofburial: | Dayton National Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio |
Allegiance: | United States (Union) |
Branch: | United States Army Union Army |
Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
Unit: | 8th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
Battles: | American Civil War Battle of Opequon |
Awards: | Medal of Honor |
Henry W. Downs (August 29, 1844 - July 2, 1911) was a Union Army soldier serving in the 8th Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Battle of Opequon more commonly called the Third Battle of Winchester, Virginia on September 19, 1864. He is buried at Dayton National Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
"The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Henry W. Downs, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 19 September 1864, while serving with Company I, 8th Vermont Infantry, in action at Winchester, Virginia. With one comrade, Sergeant Downs voluntarily crossed an open field, exposed to a raking fire, and returned with a supply of ammunition, successfully repeating the attempt a short time thereafter."
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