John C . Black John Charles Black ( January 27 , 1839 – August 17 , 1915 ) was a Democratic U . S . Congressman and received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Union Army lieutenant colonel and regimental commander at the Battle of Prairie Grove during the American Civil War . Early life . John Charles Black was born in Lexington , Mississippi on January 27 , 1839 and moved to Danville , Illinois in 1847 . His father was a minister of the Presbyterian Church . Black attended Wabash College , Crawfordsville , Indiana , and became a lawyer . American Civil War service . On April 14 , 1861 , Black ( like his brother , William P . Black ) entered the Union Army as a private in the 11th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment on April 14 , 1861 . He became sergeant major on April 25 , 1861 . After three months of service , the brothers were mustered out of the volunteers and organized Company " K " of the 37th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment . John Black became major of the regiment on September 5 , 1861 . He was wounded in the right arm at the Battle of Pea Ridge , Arkansas , on March 7 , 1862 . In July 12 , 1862 , John Black was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and became commander of the 37th Illinois Infantry . Black led his regiment against a fortified Confederate position during the Battle of Prairie Grove , Arkansas on December 7 , 1862 . The unit suffered heavy casualties and was eventually forced to retreat . Black himself was seriously wounded . An 1896 review of numerous actions during the war resulted in John Black being awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Prairie Grove . Black ' s brother William also received the medal , making them the first of five pairs of brothers to both receive the Medal of Honor as of 2005 . On December 31 , 1862 , Black was promoted to colonel of the 37th Illinois Infantry Regiment . He was given temporary command of Brigade 1 , Division 2 , XIII Corps , Department of the Gulf , between November 11 , 1863 and February 11 , 1864 , of Brigade 3 , Division 2 , Reserve Corps of the Department of the Gulf between February 3 , 1865 and February 18 , 1865 . and of Brigade 3 Division 2 , XIII Corps , Department of the Gulf , between February 18 , 1865 and March 5 , 1865 . Black resigned his commission in the volunteer service on August 15 , 1865 . On January 13 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated Black for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from April 9 , 1865 , for gallant services in the assault on Fort Blakeley , Alabama on that date , and the U . S . Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12 , 1866 . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Lieutenant Colonel , 37th Illinois Infantry . Place and date : At Prairie Grove , Ark . , December 7 , 1862 . Entered service at : Danville , Ill . Born : January 27 , 1839 , Lexington , Holmes County , Miss . Date of issue : October 31 , 1893 . Citation : Gallantly charged the position of the enemy at the head of his regiment , after 2 other regiments had been repulsed and driven down the hill , and captured a battery ; was severely wounded . Post - war career . Black practiced law and became the United States District Attorney at Chicago . Black was U . S . Commissioner of Pensions between 1885 and 1889 . Running as a Democrat , he was elected to the Fifty - third United States Congress , and served from 1893 to 1895 . In 1903 , he was honored with the office of Commander - in - Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic , the veterans organization for Civil War veterans of the Union Army , for 1903 – 1904 . Black served as president of the United States Civil Service Commission from 1904 to 1913 . Death . John C . Black died August 17 , 1915 at Chicago , Illinois . He is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum , Danville Illinois . His grave can be found in block 12 , lot 54 .