Andrew Jackson Smith ( Medal of Honor ) Andrew Jackson Smith ( September 3 , 1843 – March 4 , 1932 ) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America ' s highest military decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Honey Hill . Biography . According to family history , Smith was born into slavery , the son of Susan , a slave , and Elijah Smith , a slave owner . Upon the outbreak of the Civil War , Elijah Smith joined the Confederate military , with the intention of taking 19 - year - old Andrew along with him . When Andrew Smith learned of this , he and another slave ran away , walking through the rain before presenting themselves to a Union Army regiment , the 41st Illinois Infantry , in Smithland , Kentucky . Smith was taken in by the 41st Illinois and became a servant to Major John Warner at the regiment ' s post in nearby Paducah , Kentucky . Among Smith ' s duties were , in the event of Warner ' s death , to return his belongings to his home in Clinton , Illinois . On March 10 , 1862 , the regiment moved out to Pittsburg Landing , Tennessee , where it took part in the Battle of Shiloh a month later . During the fighting , Smith supplied Major Warner with fresh horses after the officer had two mounts shot out from under him . Smith was then struck by a " spent minie ball that entered his left temple , rolled just under the skin , and stopped in the middle of his forehead . " The bullet was removed by the regimental surgeon , leaving Smith with only a scar . By November 30 , 1864 , Smith was serving as a corporal in the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry . On that day , both the 55th and its sister regiment , the 54th Massachusetts , participated in the Battle of Honey Hill in South Carolina . The two units came under heavy fire while crossing a swamp in front of an elevated Confederate position . When the 55th ' s color bearer was killed , Smith took up the battle flags and carried them through the remainder of the fight . It was for this action that Smith was later awarded the Medal of Honor . Smith was promoted to color sergeant before leaving the Army . After the war , he lived in Kentucky , where he bought and sold land . He died at age 88 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery , Grand Rivers , Kentucky . Smith was nominated for the Medal of Honor in 1916 , but the Army denied the nomination , citing a lack of official records documenting his case . Smith ' s commander at Honey Hill had not included an account of Smith ' s actions in the official battle report . It was not until January 16 , 2001 , 137 years after the Battle of Honey Hill , that Smith was recognized ; President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor to several of Smith ' s descendants during a ceremony at the White House on that day . Former President Theodore Roosevelt was also posthumously awarded the medal at the same ceremony , for his actions during the Spanish - American War . Medal of Honor citation . Smith ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Corporal Andrew Jackson Smith , of Clinton , Illinois , a member of the 55th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry , distinguished himself on 30 November 1864 by saving his regimental colors , after the color bearer was killed during a bloody charge called the Battle of Honey Hill , South Carolina . In the late afternoon , as the 55th Regiment pursued enemy skirmishers and conducted a running fight , they ran into a swampy area backed by a rise where the Confederate Army awaited . The surrounding woods and thick underbrush impeded infantry movement and artillery support . The 55th and 54th regiments formed columns to advance on the enemy position in a flanking movement . As the Confederates repelled other units , the 55th and 54th regiments continued to move into flanking positions . Forced into a narrow gorge crossing a swamp in the face of the enemy position , the 55th ' s Color - Sergeant was killed by an exploding shell , and Corporal Smith took the Regimental Colors from his hand and carried them through heavy grape and canister fire . Although half of the officers and a third of the enlisted men engaged in the fight were killed or wounded , Corporal Smith continued to expose himself to enemy fire by carrying the colors throughout the battle . Through his actions , the Regimental Colors of the 55th Infantry Regiment were not lost to the enemy . Corporal Andrew Jackson Smith ' s extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire is in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon him , the 55th Regiment , and the United States Army .