Charles W . Rundle Charles W . Rundle ( December 14 , 1842 – July 11 , 1924 ) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions during the Siege of Vicksburg . He was born in Kentucky and fought on the side of the Union during the American Civil War . While fighting in Vicksburg he , along with 150 others attempted to stop a Confederate assault , only to be pinned down . They continued to resist confederate attacks until nightfall and Rundle and a few others managed to escape . After the war he became a farmer in Colorado and started a family . While living in Grand Junction he was arrested he resisted a city marshal attempts to capture his dog , but was found not guilty of interfering with a city marshal . He sold his farm in 1902 and worked in the Grand Junction Post Office until retiring in 1919 . After retiring they moved to southern California attempting to improve his wife ' s health . He and his wife , Hettie , lived in an old soldiers ' home until they died and were buried side - by - side at the Los Angeles National Cemetery . Early life and military service . Rundle was born in Kentucky on December 14 , 1842 . He joined the Army from Oakley Township , Illinois in August 1862 , and by May 22 , 1863 , was serving as a private in Company A of the 116th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment . On that day , near Vicksburg , Mississippi , Union commanders called for 150 unmarried volunteers to charge a heavily fortified Confederate position ; Rundle answered the call . The volunteers were to build makeshift bridges across the trench immediately in front of the fortifications and then place ladders against the walls of the position . They would be followed by a large Union force which would used the newly placed bridges and ladders to storm the fort . The prospects for the volunteers were grim , and the group was accordingly known as the " forlorn hope " . As Rundle and the others ran across the open ground in front of the fort , Confederate cannons opened fire and inflicted heavy casualties . The group was sent into disarray and efforts to continue the mission were abandoned . Rundle and the other members of the advance party sought cover in the trench at the base of the fort walls . The Confederates , unable to lower the aim of their cannons enough to fire into the Union soldiers , began lighting cannonballs and tossing them by hand into the trench . The fuses proved to be too long , however , and the Union soldiers were able to jump out of harm ' s way before they exploded . Some of the men , including Rundle , began picking up the lit cannonballs and throwing them back at the Confederates . The soldiers remained trapped until nightfall , when Rundle and others were able to escape back to the Union lines ; only 30 of the original 150 men made it back . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor several decades later , on July 26 , 1894 . His official citation reads Later life and death . After the war , Rundle moved to Colorado and owned a farm east of Grand Junction . He eventually married and , with his wife Hettie , had four daughters and two sons ; one of his sons died in a 1905 railroad accident . Rundle sold his farm in 1902 and worked for the Grand Junction Post Office until his retirement in 1919 . He was an active member of the Elks and the Grand Army of the Republic . In 1893 , he was involved in a dispute with the Grand Junction city government regarding his dog . On May 27 of that year , Rundle was arrested after knocking away the snare of a city marshal who was attempting to capture the dog in accordance with a recently passed leash law . The case went to trial , with Rundle ' s lawyer arguing that the animal had been under the control of its owner at all times , and that the marshal had exceeded his authority by calling the dog over in order to snare it . The jury quickly found Rundle not guilty of interfering with a city marshal . Following his retirement , Rundle and his family moved to southern California in the hopes that the climate would be beneficial to his wife ' s health . He and his wife , Hettie , lived in an old soldiers ' home ; Rundle died there in 1924 , at age 81 , and Hettie in 1931 . They were buried side - by - side at the Los Angeles National Cemetery .