It had been a long four years, and General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was losing the war of attrition. His men had fought valiantly, but their numbers had dwindled to the point where both armies could see that the Confederacy was in its last throes. Morale among the Southerners was low, and now it was April, planting time. In addition to simply being weary of fighting, men on both sides just wanted to go home, reunite with their families, and tend to their fields. Officers in both armies found themselves spending large portions of their time simply trying, often unsuccessfully, to keep their men from deserting. 

Lee had lost nearly a quarter of what was left of his army just four days earlier when the Union had broken through at Petersburg, Virginia. While he sensed that the end was drawing near, he still held out hope of continuing the war if he could just make it to North Carolina and link up with General Joseph Johnston. Union General Ulysses Grant had sent parts of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James in pursuit of Lee, with orders to make sure that didn’t happen.

Three of Lee’s most trusted generals, James Longstreet, Richard Ewell, and Richard Anderson, had led the battered Southerners through Amelia Courthouse, Virginia, where they had hoped to find desperately needed food but had found only ordnance. With Union troops blocking the road to Danville, the supply depot at Farmville, Virginia, became their next destination.

On April 6, 1865, Lee’s column began to back up at the Double Bridges over Sailor’s Creek, allowing the Federals to catch up. Soon, some 16,000 Federal forces were engaged with slightly more than 11,000 Confederates. The day would become known in the South as Black Thursday, when Southern casualties outnumbered those of the North by nearly nine to one. Among the 8,800 Confederate casualties were 7,700 rebels taken captive, including six generals. The fight would become the last major engagement of the Civil War, and Lee surrendered three days later. The bloody Civil War was now over.

1^st Lieutenant Francis Marion Cunningham

By James Gindlesperger, historical author

Francis Marion Cunningham had been born December 31, 1837 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in a place with the unusual name of Upper Turkeyfoot Township. Or maybe it was December 12 instead of December 31. Nobody really remembered for sure. It wasn’t all that important. The son of Robert and Sarah (Pinkerton) Cunningham was one of 11 children in the family, with five sisters and five brothers. One of those brothers, James Lawrence, had died as a Prisoner of War just a few months before in the Confederate prison camp at Danville, Virginia.

Francis had been living near Ohiopyle, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, when the Civil War began. When President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion, Francis and 66 other young men from Fayette County had purchased horses and rode to what would eventually become West Virginia to enlist in Company H of the 1^st Virginia Cavalry (Union). He had married Sarah J. Skinner just a week before leaving. His regiment would see a name change to the 1^st West Virginia Cavalry when the northwestern portion of Virginia broke away from the rest of the state in 1863. As one of the first to enlist, Cunningham had fought in 74 battles and six skirmishes so far, including Gettysburg, Cedar Creek, Lynchburg, and the one just five days earlier at Five Forks, where the Union army had inflicted 1.000 casualties and taken 4,000 prisoners. Cunningham and his friends speculated that the Confederacy couldn’t hold out much longer.

The rebels may have been beaten down, but here they were again at Sailor’s Creek, in Virginia, facing yet another battle. Cunningham had already proven his mettle, and he didn’t want to get hurt now, not when the war was soon to be over. He had been an orderly sergeant at Gettysburg when he took over command of his company after all the officers had been killed. When his three-year enlistment had ended, he signed up for another three-year term on December 23, 1863. He had never even left the regiment, actually, so he still held command of Company H.

Now, the rebels were out there somewhere, probably not far away. There were some fortifications dug in just across the creek, in that thick underbrush. That’s probably where they were lurking, but there was no way to guess how many of them there were. The only way to tell for sure was to charge, and charge they did.

Almost immediately Cunningham’s horse was killed, throwing Cunningham to the ground. Known for his sense of humor, Cunningham later wrote colorfully that he “… was one of the men lowered to terra firma swiftly, my fine black charger being killed under me.”

The Confederate ranks may have been depleted but there was still plenty of fight left in those who remained. The Union charge was repulsed, and men and horses alike floundered through the brush and interwoven vines, many of them falling for the final time. As Cunningham groped his way through the thick smoke, he blundered into a mule wearing a Confederate saddle. He mounted his new ride, with its saddle still slippery with the former owner’s lifeblood, and pushed back through the woods to rally his troops.

Just as he arrived, the bugle sounded, calling for another charge. Cunningham spun his mule around and joined the rest of the troops and as he did so, he gained a new respect for mules. He said the mule outran the horses, bounded across the creek, and headed directly for the enemy breastworks. Cunningham later recalled that his ride was not only fast, but it also “… jumped like a steeplechaser, and he seemed rather to prefer taking a four-foot stump rather than passing around it.” Along the way, Cunningham was wounded twice.

Reaching the fortifications, the mule jumped over the mounds of dirt and logs, landing directly beside the color bearer for the 12^th Virginia Infantry. A fight for his flag ensued, until the injured Cunningham slashed at the man’s arm with his saber, forcing him to drop the colors. Cunningham immediately grabbed them before they touched the ground.

One of those who witnessed the action was General George Armstrong Custer, who was so impressed that he immediately placed Cunningham on his staff and would later recommend him for the Medal of Honor. As part of Custer’s staff, Cunningham was by the general’s side a few days later at Lee’s surrender.

On May 3, 1865, Cunningham was awarded the Medal of Honor. His citation reads: “Capture of battle flag of 12^th Virginia Infantry (CSA) in hand-to-hand combat while wounded.” The honor carried with it an additional $10 in his monthly pension. On July 8, 1865, Cunningham mustered out of the Union army and returned to Ohiopyle and became a minister in the Baptist church.

In early May 1919, he was working around an old building when he stepped on a rusty spike. Blood poisoning and lockjaw developed, and he died May 11, 1919. He was buried in the Sugar Grove Cemetery in Ohiopyle. The funeral was said to be one of the largest held in that area in several years, with a number of Civil War veterans in attendance. His Medal was given to the Fayette County, Pennsylvania, Courthouse, where it remains.

About the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Medal of Honor, inspiring America to live the values the Medal represents, and supporting Recipients of the Medal as they connect with communities across America.

Chartered by Congress in 1958, its membership consists exclusively of those individuals who have received the Medal of Honor. There are fewer than 70 living Recipients.

The Society carries out its mission through outreach, education and preservation programs, including the Medal of Honor Museum, Medal of Honor Outreach Programs, the Medal of Honor Character Development Program, and the Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Awards for Valor and Service. The Society’s programs and operations are funded by donations.

As part of Public Law 106-83, the Medal of the Honor Memorial Act, the Medal of Honor Museum, which is co-located with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s headquarters on board the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was designated as one of three national Medal of Honor sites.

Learn more about the Medal of Honor and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s initiatives at cmohs.org.