Henry A Barnum

Henry was born on the 24th of September 1833, in Jamesville, New York, and after grade school, attended Syracuse Institute. There, he passed the bar exam in 1860 and the following year he joined the 12th New York Infantry. On the 1st of July 1862, Henry was a Major with Company I and was wounded at Malvern Hill, Virginia. This gunshot wound was through his left ilium, the large section of bone in the pelvis, and was left for dead since it should have been a mortal wound. Henry was taken by the enemy and eventually returned to the Union lines, where he recovered and was promoted to Colonel with the 149th New York Infantry Regiment.

Due to his injuries, he couldn’t assume command immediately but did rejoin the regiment the night before they left Fairfax Station, Virginia. Henry would have to take a leave of absence a few times for surgeries and other medical attention and was wounded again in Tennessee during the Battle of Lookout Mountain. It was there, on the 23rd of November 1863, that he displayed actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

Although suffering severely from wounds, he led his regiment, inciting his men to greater action by word and example until again severely wounded.

Henry was given the task of taking the flags that had been captured by the 149th New York (and other regiments) to the War Department and he also received twenty days of leave. He received no recognition for his actions at the time but he did receive the Medal of Honor twenty-six years after his actions, on the 16th of July 1889.

Henry was placed on recruiting duty after receiving another surgery that left him unfit for field duty, but he rejoined his regiment in Georgia in June of 1864. Soon after rejoining them, he was wounded again, this time by shell fragments at Peach Tree Creek, and two months later Henry took command of the 3rd Brigade. Henry led this brigade into Savannah, Georgia, and received a brevet promotion to Brigadier General of Volunteers. Not long after the capture of Savannah, he received the full promotion to Brigadier General and then a brevet promotion to Major General.

Henry resigned from service on the 9th of January 1866, after just five years of service, and became the president of the Central New York Peat and Marl Company, as well as an elected New York State Prison Inspector from 1865 to 1868. He was also a Republican representative in the New York State Assembly in 1885 for the 21st District. Henry was twice married, first to Lavina King in 1860 with whom he had two children, and second to Josephine Raynolds in 1871 and they had one child. Henry Alanson Barnum died on the 29th of January 1892, at the age of 58. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse, New York: Section 12, Lot 24.