The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military decoration, awarded for extraordinary bravery. During the Civil War, 106 soldiers connected to Illinois earned this honor – either born in the state, enlisted there, or having served in Illinois units.

Among them were 27 native Illinoisans and 20 immigrants who made Illinois home.

Remarkably, 43 of these medals came from a single, bloody assault on the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 22, 1863. Seven local men earned their medals in that failed frontal attack, including three from the 127th Illinois Infantry, a regiment largely recruited from the Chicago area.

Pvt. Andrew Goldsbery, a 23-year-old farmer from St. Charles , stood just 5-foot-4. Pvt. Andrew McCornack, only 19 and from Rutland, later raised a fami

See Full Page