Walter Thorn Walter Thorn ( November 18 , 1844 – July 20 , 1920 ) was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War . On December 8 , 1898 he received the Medal of Honor for his action while serving as a Second Lieutenant in the 116th United States Colored Troops , a unit made up of white officers and African - American soldiers . Early life . Thorn was born in Brooklyn , New York on November 18 , 1844 . Military service . After completing his education , Thorn enlisted for the Civil War and served in the 13th and 52nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiments before receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the 116th Infantry , United States Colored Troops . Thorn received a medal for hand to hand combat in which he captured a Confederate officer , an action that was personally witnessed by General Ulysses S . Grant . He attained the rank of Major before his discharge at the end of the war . Aside from the Medal of Honor awarded to him in 1898 for his deeds at Petersburg , Thorn was also awarded the Brooklyn War Fund Committee Medal of Honor in 1872 " for especial acts of bravery at Ferrows Island and Petersburg , Va . " He also received the Brooklyn War Service Medal in 1866 . Medal of Honor action . From pages 477 to 478 of 1901 ' s " Deeds of Valor : How America ' s Heroes Won the Medal of Honor " by Oscar Frederick Keydel : " It was at the beginning of January , 1865 . General Butler , commanding the Army of the James , was expected to reach and capture Richmond by operating on the south side of the James River . His movements were blocked by the sinking of obstructions which rendered it impossible for him to navigate the stream , and by a powerful Confederate battery at French Beach . " " To overcome these difficulties the resourceful Butler had caused a canal to be cut through the Dutch Gap peninsula , so that the enemy ' s batteries could be flanked and the obstructions in the river passed by the navy . " " Nothing remained to be done but remove the great earthen bulkhead that separated the two bodies of water . This had been sapped and galleried , and more powder was packed away in it than was used in blowing up the famous " Crater " at Petersburg . The main body of troops had been drawn off from the neighborhood of the vast mine for safety , and it was supposed that none had been left behind but the few whose duty it was to light the fuse and then escape . " " The supreme moment had arrived . The fuse had been lighted , and the officers were standing in a group at a safe distance discussing the question whether the work was to be crowned with success . " " A member of General Butler ' s staff galloped up and shouted excitedly : " Has the guard opposite the bulkhead been withdrawn ? " " Somebody answered , hardly articulately , rather with a sort of gasp : " No ! " " " There was a score of men in the guard . There were tons of powder beside them . Fire was eating its way up the fuse and might at any second set loose the terrific force of the mine . " " The bravery of the officers before whose minds those thoughts flashed could not be doubted — it had been proved too often for that — but to go and warn the squad seemed so utterly beyond reason , so surely a useless throwing away of another life , that they stood there rigid and pale , with one exception - Walter Thorn , first lieutenant of the U . S . Colored Infantry , who hesitated , but only long enough to form a resolve . Then he dashed off in the direction of the bulkhead . " " Perceiving his intention , his fellow officers called to him to return — warned him , pleaded with him . Paying no heed , he ran on , reached the bulkhead , climbed to its summit , faced the storm of bullets that the rebels directed at him , and stood there until he had ordered the picket guard to flee to a place of safety . " " He leaped from the top of the mine ; the explosion took place ; the earth was scattered in all directions and a great abyss remained , but the young lieutenant was unharmed . " " " It was as deliberate an act of self - sacrifice and valor as was ever performed in our country or any other , " said one of his superior officers . " Medal of Honor citation . After the fuze to the mined bulkhead had been lit , this officer , learning that the picket guard had not been withdrawn , mounted the bulkhead and at great personal peril warned the guard of its danger . Name : Thorn , Walter Rank : Second Lieutenant Organization : Company G , 116th U . S . Colored Troops Place : Dutch Gap Canal , Virginia Date : 1 January 1865 Birth : New York , New York Date of Issue : 8 December 1898 Post - Civil War activity . After his military service , Thorn became an attorney in Brooklyn and practiced for more than 30 years . He also held several federal , county and local government posts , including Deputy Sheriff ; Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue ; Deputy City Auditor ; Assistant Assesor ; Shore Inspector of the Port of New York ; and Warden of the Raymond Street Jail . In 1879 Thorn joined the New York National Guard as a Captain , and commanded a company before resigning his commission in 1883 . Thorn remained active in veterans ' organizations including the Grand Army of the Republic . In the early 1900s he served as commander of the Medal of Honor Legion . He also served as President of the War Veterans and Sons Association . Later life and death . In his later years Thorn lived and worked at several soldiers ' homes , including one in Bath , New York . Near the end of his life he donated many of his medals and other mementos to the American Numismatic Society . Thorn was the head librarian at the National Soldiers ' Home in Hampton , Virginia , where he died on July 20 , 1920 . He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery , Section 2 Lot 3689 - WH .