CONFEDERATE MEDAL OF HONOR
The two following articles are Confederate Medal Of Honor Citations for heros in the Confederate Armed Services, in which the Robert E. Lee Camp had the honor and privledge of nominating, and presenting to the descendants of these brave men. Only 46 soldiers have been awarded Confederate Medals of Honor in the past three decades.
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CAPTAIN JOSEPH BANKS LYLE
5TH SOUTH CAROLINA INFANTRY, C.S.A.
BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG ROAD, VIRGINIA
27 OCTOBER 1864
"Seeing that the enemy attack upon the works had failed, Captain Lyle watched the foe retreat to the safety of a ravine in the middle of the battlefield. Suspecting these men to be broken in morale and dispirited, Captain Lyle, ignoring two slight wounds received earlier in the day, requested permission to advance the skirmish line and capture them, knowing they would escape under cover of approaching night. When his request was refused, Captain Lyle advanced toward the enemy position alone. Although joined by two compatriots moments later, Captain Lyle realized the danger his two companions risked in accompanying him. Instructing them to halt on a rise overlooking the enemy, he continued forward. Upon hearing the shout of an enemy officer exhorting his men to continue the fight, Captain Lyle ordered his two companions to shoot down the officer unless he stopped his tirade. Advancing alone, Captain Lyle now came under friendly fire from Confederates far up the works who mistook him for a deserter. When word spread that the distant figure was a Confederate officer, all firing ceased and men up and down the line watched in disbelief as Captain Lyle audaciously ordered the entire force before him to surrender. After half the enemy had filed from the protection of the ravine, another officer challenged him by berating his fellow soldiers for surrendering to a single man whom they could easily overpower and kill. Grabbing a discarded Spencer carbine, Captain Lyle advanced upon the man and threatened to kill him if he did not obey his demand to surrender, dramatically ending any further resistance. In one of the most incredible feats of personal valor witnessed during the War Between the States, Captain Lyle single-handedly captured three stands of colors, several swords and small arms, and between 500 and 600 prisoners. For extraordinary heroism at great personal peril, Captain Joseph Banks Lyle is hereby awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor."
Private James Pleasants
The Dahlgren-Kilpatrick Raid
Goochland County, Virginia1 March 1864
At home on furlough, 19 year-old Private Pleasants awakened to learn that Union raiders had taken his 2 cavalry mounts in the early morning hours. Arming himself with his carbine and donning a captured Union sack coat for protection from the winter cold, he set out on foot intending to recover his horses and, if possible, to take the war to his foe. Sighting numerous small groups of Federal cavalry during a 3-mile trek, it became apparent that a sizeable Union force was in the area.
Though alone and without hope of support, he remained steadfast in his quest. Using the wood line as cover, Private Pleasants twice captured lone raiders as they rode near him. Now mounted, he pressed on toward the main body. Unfazed at suddenly meeting a small party of raiders, he swiftly presented his carbine and forced their surrender without resistance. Returning to the road with his prisoners, Private Pleasants deliberately allowed an unsuspecting group of Union riders to converge. Audaciously presenting his carbine with a demand for surrender, he captured them all. With 12 prisoners now in his custody and other groups of raiders still in the vicinity, Private Pleasants deemed it prudent to return home, by now nearly 5 miles away.
When 150 yards from his house, he spied 2 Federals there at a well. Though burdened by his prisoners, Private Pleasants boldly continued toward them. Arriving, he presented his carbine and demanded their surrender. The raiders instead responded by drawing revolvers and firing at him. In the brief but furious fusillade that followed, Private Pleasants displayed uncommon coolness by shooting one and forcing the other to surrender, all the while maintaining control of his prisoners. With assistance from his uncle and a neighbor, Private Pleasants then began a 20-mile trip, much of it still teeming with Union cavalry, to the jail of a neighboring county. That night he deposited his prisoners and a wagonload of their equipment with authorities.
Young, determined and intrepid Private Pleasants, displaying astounding daring and personal valor, captured 13 Union soldiers, killed another and took 16 horses that morning. For extraordinary heroism at great personal peril, Private James Pleasants is hereby awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor.
03 Apr 2009