LANGUAGE MORE FORCEFUL THAN ELEGANT1
——-
JOHN LILLEY,
Private, Co. F, 205th Penn. Inf.
Born in Oliver Township, Mifflin County, Pa.
As a soldier Private John Lilley, of Company F, Two hundred and fifth Pennsylvania Infantry, was as good a fighter as he was emphatic in his speech. When there was an act of daring to be done on the field of battle, Lilley was certain to volunteer; when a bit of repartee or a cuss-word more expressive than choice passed around among the members of the regiment it could always be traced to Lilley as the original source. Both of these qualities gave him a certain standing among his comrades, and served him well in an incident at Petersburg, Va., April 2, 1865, which won for him unstinted praise.
The signal to charge had been given and the troops, among them the Two hundred and fifth Pennsylvania, rushed forward. Three fortifications were taken with great impetuosity and in quick succession. The Two hundred and fifth charged on a fourth fortification. Presently the discovery was made that all of the commissioned officers were remaining behind and the men at once fell back, but Private Lilley who was in the lead, refused to follow suit.
“What?” he shouted, “Go back? Not by a damned sight! I don’t care whether there are any officers with us or not. See that flag? I’m going to have that or croak.”
The colors he referred to were those on the rebel works, and, suiting the action to his words, Lilley rushed on until he found himself at the side of the rebel color-bearer. In an instant the private had his bayonet pointed at the rebel’s breast.
“You damned reb, surrender, or I’ll blow you to hell! ” The suddenness of Lilley’s appearance and attack amidst the smoke of the rifle fire so completely unnerved the rebel that he stammered out:
“Yank, for God’s sake, don’t shoot!”
Several others who were near by were also awed by Lilley’s sudden appearance and emphatic command, and when he said: “Give me that flag, and the rest of you throw down your guns, or I’ll make you think hell has broke loose,” the color-bearer and his companions wilted and complied with his request.
Lilley then stepped to their rear, and, with the captured flag in hand, said:
“Now march, and if you all don’t keep up a step that will be a credit to you and your lost cause, I’ll fill you full of Yankee lead!”
By a running fire of his choicest cuss-words Lilley kept the men going at a lively gait in the direction of the fortification last captured, when presently and to his surprise he found that there was not a Union soldier to be seen. The rebels, too, noticed the absence of Union soldiers, took courage, stopped and refused to go on.
“What?” exclaimed Lilley raising his gun, “You think you can monkey with me?” Here Lilley again brought into play his whole battery of oaths, and they rolled from his mouth with such ease and vehemence that this fire of oaths rather than his raised rifle cowed the poor rebels into submission and they again sullenly resumed the march.
“Now,” said Lilley, “don’t you damned rebs try to monkey with me again, or by thunder I’ll shoot every one of you!”
This last speech had its effect upon the men and no further rupture occurred until they had gone about half way to the fort, when a Union officer, coming out from his shelter, commanded Lilley to hand over the flag.
“Like hell I will!” exclaimed the plucky private, suspecting that credit for capturing it was coveted by the lieutenant.
“I am your superior officer and demand that flag,” repeated the lieutenant, with a supercilious air.
Flushed with anger and losing his temper, Lilley pointed his gun at him and said: “I’ll be damned if you get this flag!” and without further ado he marched his prisoners past the lieutenant to the fort, where he turned the captured trophy over to his colonel. He was about to make a little speech in his characteristic fashion, but the colonel, anticipating a flow of language punctuated with choice oaths, waved his hand and smilingly said: “That’s all right, Lilley, you’re a brave fellow; you are relieved from duty for the day and you shall be otherwise rewarded for your brave conduct.”
***
Read about even more Medal of Honor winners at the Siege of Petersburg:
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Introduction
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: At the “Breakthrough”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Ride to Almost Certain Death
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Under Special Protection of Providence
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Three Examples of Soldierly Devotion
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Recaptured Colors and Took Two Prisoners
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: 3 Men Capture 27 “Johnnies”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Captured, But Their Colors Were Saved
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Retained Command Despite Severe Wounds
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: He Paused at the Side of His Dead Captain
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: The Hero of Fort Haskell
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: The Gallant Colonel and His Brave Adjutant
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Bayonet Charge Put the Rebels to Flight
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Too Young for Enlistment, But Served
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: “Well Done, Taylor”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Equal to the Emergency
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: An Improvised Bodyguard
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: The Fall of Fort Harrison
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Message Delivered Under Difficulty
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Thought Only of Saving the Flag
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: The Story of a Youthful Hero
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Sergeant Who Wisely Disbelieved
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Rounded Up Forty Rebels
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Scenes from Hatcher’s Run
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Rebel Charge That Failed
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: “I Was Mad as a Hornet”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Risked Being Blown to Atoms at Dutch Gap Canal
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Swam the River Under Difficulties
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Valorous Deeds at Hatcher’s Run
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: “Lieutenant, What Say You?”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Heroism In the Hour of Reverse
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Duty and Death Rather Than Dishonor
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Thrilling Episodes Around Petersburg
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Attracted General Custer’s Attention
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Engineer, Surgeon and Hero
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: “They Can’t Drive You Out of Here”
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Hero from the South
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Made Good Use of the Enemy’s Weapons
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: In Full View of the Enemy
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Rewarded Twice
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: Gallant Vermonters
- Petersburg Medals of Honor: A Profitable Reconnoissance
- Between 1898 and 1905: James M. Pipes to to the Compilers of the Volume Deeds of Valor
- Newspaper Article: Powhatan Beaty, 5th USCT, Co G
- NP: October 3, 1864 Philadelphia Inquirer: AP Reports, September 29-30
- NP: January 12, 1888 Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer: Flagstaff of the 12th WV
- OR XL P1 #292: Medals of Honor, June 15-July 30, 1864
- OR XLII P1 #350: Medals of Honor, August 1-December 31, 1864
- OR XLVI P1 #178: Medals of Honor, Feb 5-7 and Mar 25, 1865
- OR XLVI P1 #266: Medals of Honor, Mar 31-Apr 9, 1865
- “Paddy the Horse” Ginley Wins a Medal of Honor at Reams Station
Source:
- Beyer, Walter F. and Keydel, Oscar F. Deeds of Valor: How America’s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor…, Volume 1 (The Perrien – Keydel Company: 1901), pp. 521-522 ↩