One of the units participating in the assault of Missionary Ridge was the 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment (O.V.I.), which was under the brigade command of Brigadier General John B. Turchin. As the battle commenced, the 31st O.V.I. was ordered to take its position as the third line of assault.

Upon reaching the rifle pits at the base of the Confederate breastworks at the bottom of the ridge, the 31st discovered that the first two assault lines were already pinned down by enemy fire. Surveying their position, they soon realized that it was less dangerous to move forward than retreat, especially since the Confederates were already attempting to retreat to the top of the ridge. Colonel Frederick W. Lister, company commander, gave the order: "Forward Thirty-first."

Unable to move in unison, men in the regiment advanced as they could. Private James C. Walker was one of the first soldiers to reach the foot of the Confederate breastworks at the summit. When the number of soldiers at the foot reached twenty, Walker took charge. He called out: "Boys are you ready?" When the group responded "yes," Walker ordered his fellow soldiers over the top of the breastworks.

Looking down into the trenches, the 31st saw the Confederates waiting for them in two lines. The first line was kneeling with fixed bayonets and the second line was lying behind them. With a yell, the 31st threw themselves down into the trenches. Immediately, fierce hand-to-hand combat commenced.

Eventually, the 31st O.V.I. broke through the Confederate line. Moving forward through the line, Walker was hit in the chest with a minie ball, which momentarily knocked the air out of him. At the same time, a shell hit the color bearer of the 31st, Corporal George W. Franklin. Staggering from the loss of blood, Franklin lost his grasp of the colors. Unwilling to let the colors touch the ground, the injured Walker jumped up and saved the flag.

After Walker saved the colors, the 31st came under attack from a Confederate battery to its left. Rushing forward with his fellow soldiers, Walker was able to pull the fuse out of the first gun. Private Sam Wright then shot the battery commander with his musket. Before too long, the 31st was able to gain control of the battery. Recounting the story, Walker told what happened next: "We drove off the rebel gunners, slewed the guns around and poured their contents into their owners."

Confederate reinforcements arrived, forcing the 31st to retreat back over the breastworks. The regiment remained in that position until the Union forces launched another attack. As Union forces attacked the Confederates from all sides, the 31st went back over the top of the breastworks. When Walker went over the works a second time, he spotted the color bearer of an Alabama unit and engaged him in a ferocious battle over the possession of the Alabama flag. Eventually, the color bearer surrendered. Throughout the rest of the fighting, Walker, though shot and bleeding, refused to give up the colors of his regiment.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Private James Walker was one of twenty men cited for valor in the fighting near Chattanooga, Tennessee, November 24 & 25, 1863. On November 25 at Missionary Ridge where fifteen men earned Medals of Honor, Private Walker was advancing with his unit when first one and then a second color bearer fell to the enemy guns. Recalling that action he wrote, "As I turned to push on, I was struck in the right breast with a Minie ball which knocked the breath out of me and stunned me, making ten holes through my blanket, blouse, and shirt. Our color bearer, Corporal George W. Franklin, had been struck in the arm by a piece of shell as he came over the works, and was on the point of falling from loss of blood when I came to my senses. I jumped up and caught the colors just in time to same them from going down." As the battle continued, Private Walker saw the color bearer of the 41st Alabama (Confederate States of America) about twenty yards ahead of him. "I rushed at him and caught hold of the flag, but in the struggle we fell and the staff was broken. The rebel surrendered and I rolled up his flag and carried it under my left arm. The regimental flag carried by Private Walker contained 89 bullet holes at the end of this action.

born: Nov. 30, 1843

died: Apr. 8, 1923

buried: Ferncliff Cemetery
Springfield
Clark County
Ohio, USA
Plot: Section I, Lot 117

CIVIL WAR~Ohio's Medal of Honor Recipients