By January 15, 1865, the Civil War was winding down. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House was just four months away, and the Confederacy was in its last throes. The fighting had not ended, however, and men were still dying. 

Nowhere was that more evident than at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, aptly referred to as the Gibraltar of the Confederacy. Guarding the last major port still open to the Confederacy – Wilmington, North Carolina – Fort Fisher was a large earthwork fortification that had become a key target of the Union army. Capturing it would choke off the last hope for the Confederacy to obtain supplies by way of the sea. The 1,900-man Rebel garrison was determined to keep that from happening.

A joint effort by the Union army and navy in December 1864 had failed to capture the fort, and Union General Benjamin Butler was relieved of his command shortly after. Now, a second joint attempt was to be made under the commands of Major General Alfred Terry and Rear Admiral David Porter. The plan of attack called for Porter’s navy to bombard the fort, followed by Terry’s 8,000 Union infantry troops approaching from inland while some 2,000 sailors and marines assaulted the seaside wall. A division of United States Colored Troops would block the roads to prevent Confederate reinforcements from reaching the fort.

The attack began on the night of January 12, 1865, with Porter’s ships pounding the fort with a barrage that was so intense that the Southern troops inside the fort were unable to repair any damage as it occurred. On January 15, the assault on the walls was launched. As the fight for the fort raged, Confederate Major General William H. C. Whiting requested reinforcements from General Braxton Bragg. After several pleas from Whiting, Bragg responded by sending Brigadier General Alfred Holt Colquitt to relieve Whiting.

By the time Colquitt arrived, Whiting lay wounded and the defenders were beginning to abandon the fort. Before Colquitt could assume command, Whiting surrendered the garrison. A month later the city of Wilmington fell. The flow of desperately needed supplies for the Confederate army was now effectively cut off.

Brigadier General Newton Martin Curtis

By James Gindlesperger, historical author

On November 11, 1830, Jonathan Curtis purchased 50 acres of land in De Peyster, New York. With his wife Phoebe (Rising) Curtis, the couple reared two sons on the homestead. The youngest, Newton Martin Curtis, would grow to a strapping 6’7”, 225-pound war hero and serve his country as a special agent of the United States Treasury Department, Assistant Inspector General of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and United States Congressman.

He was born May 21, 1835, eventually attending the Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary in St. Lawrence County, New York. He read law in Ogdensburg, New York, for a short time after graduating, returning home when his health failed. Once recovered, he remained on the family farm, working the fields until he learned of the fall of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. He immediately answered President Lincoln’s call for troops to put down the rebellion, organizing a company of volunteers from the De Peyster area. He received a commission as captain in the company, which was assigned as Company G to the 16^th New York Infantry. He rose through the ranks quickly, fighting in such battles as Harrison’s Landing, Crampton’s Pass, New Market Heights, and Antietam, and he commanded a brigade at the siege of Petersburg. Curtis suffered his first wound at an engagement at West Point, Virginia. In 1864, by now having attained the rank of colonel, he received the honorary rank of brevet brigadier general for his distinguished service.

It was at Fort Fisher, however, on January 15, 1865, that he attained his highest accolade, the Medal of Honor. Commanding the First Brigade, Second Division, Twenty-Fourth Army Corps, Curtis did the unthinkable for a general officer: he grabbed a musket and stepped to the front of the ranks, then led his men on a series of four assaults across the marshy approach. A brigadier general leading a charge was not a common sight for either army, and Curtis immediately became a target. On each of the first three assaults, Curtis was wounded. He refused to be dissuaded, however, and led a fourth attack that took him and his men into the fort.

Inside the earthworks, the fighting was brutal, as was the carnage. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued, and the din of the battle almost, but not quite, drowned out the cries of the wounded. A member of Brigadier General Adelbert Ames’s staff, Captain A.G. Lawrence, had one arm blown off and suffered wounds to the other, as well as to his neck. Realizing that his wounds were mortal, he asked a chaplain to tell his father how he died, then held up the bloody stump of his arm and said, “Isn’t this a devil of a bob-tail flush?”  Ames himself would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the first Battle of Bull Run in 1861.

Despite his wounds, Curtis continued the fight until suffering his fourth wound of the day, shortly before dark. This one proved to be too severe for him to continue. His men carried him to the rear for treatment. While receiving treatment he learned of the Union victory.

Before mustering out, Curtis was promoted to major general. After the war he returned to the family farm, becoming active in local and state politics and serving as Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. He also served as a member of the New York State assembly from 1884 to 1890, followed by his election to the 52^nd, 53^rd, and 54^th sessions of Congress.

On November 28, 1891, Curtis received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Fort Fisher. His citation read “The first man to pass through the stockade, he personally led each assault on the traverses and was four times wounded.”

Curtis died unexpectedly on January 8, 1910, in New York City, when he suffered a stroke while walking not far from his home. He was buried in Ogdensburg Cemetery in Ogdensburg, New York.

Just months after his death, the St. Lawrence State Hospital named a recreation hall for Curtis, and in 1913 a monument was erected in his honor in Ogdensburg. As recently as 2017, it was apparent that the state of New York still remembered him, when a state historical marker was placed at the site of his family homestead.

Further Reading

• Beyer, W.F., and Keydel, O.F., editors, Deeds of Valor, (Detroit:  Perrien-Keydel Co, 1903), page 474.
• Geni, Brevet Maj. Gen. Newton Martin Curtis, Medal of Honor, Accessed December 8, 2023
• William G. Pomeroy Foundation, Historic Marker, Curtis Homestead, Accessed December 8, 2023

*****

To stay up-to-date on upcoming events, special announcements, and partner/Recipient highlights, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

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 and its Recipients, inspiring Americans, and supporting the Recipients as they connect with communities across the country.

Chartered by Congress in 1958, its membership consists exclusively of those individuals who have received the Medal of Honor. There are 65 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.