195:. On that day, during the Battle of Chancellorsville, his unit was ordered to move forward through heavy fire, set up their six cannons, and commence firing on the Confederate forces. Confederate artillery had been established on a ridge 600 feet (180 m) away, and the guns poured heavy fire onto the 5th Maine's designated position. Within thirty minutes of setting up their own cannons, half of the men in Chase's battery were dead. Soon, all of the battery's officers had been killed or wounded and Chase's cannon was one of only two that were still operational. Lieutenant
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222:, in command of the 116th Pennsylvania's Company D, led his men through the smoke and enemy fire to reach the 5th Maine. While Chase and Lebroke lifted the rear of their cannon, Sacriste and his company attached ropes to the front and pulled the gun from the field. The rest of the 116th Pennsylvania and then the whole Irish Brigade joined in, pulling all of the cannons and
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moved into the farmhouse, where he stayed for a week. Sent to
Seminary Hospital, his condition was still grim and about three weeks after arriving, he was again set outside to die. Despite the doctor's predictions, Chase survived his wounds. Following three months at Seminary Hospital, he was taken to West
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Satisfied that the cannons were out of the
Confederates' reach, Chase returned to the field, picked up Lieutenant Kirby, and carried him to the rear. Before Chase left, Kirby took down his and Lebroke's names and stated "If ever two men have earned a Medal of Honor, you have, and you shall have it."
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from the 1st U.S. Battery arrived to take command of the 5th Maine. Immediately after reaching Chase's gun, a
Confederate shell exploded nearby and struck Kirby in the hip, leaving him incapacitated. As he lay beside the cannon, Chase asked if he wanted to be taken from the field, and Kirby replied,
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Chase was taken to an Army hospital set up on a farm outside of
Gettysburg and lain down beside a barn. The doctors there ignored him, thinking that he would die any minute, while they tended to other patients. After three days of lying on the ground, his wounds were bandaged and he was eventually
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A Confederate shell exploded near where Chase was standing. The blast took off his right arm, destroyed his left eye, and sent forty-eight pieces of shrapnel into his body. He was carried, unconscious, to the rear and left for dead. Two days later, his body was loaded onto a wagon along with many
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Nearly all the officers and men of the battery having been killed or wounded, this soldier with a comrade continued to fire his gun after the guns had ceased. The piece was then dragged off by the two, the horses having been shot, and its capture by the enemy was
268:. On the battle's second day, July 2, the Confederates launched an assault on Cemetery Hill. Chase's battery fired with devastating effect on the attacking infantry, and in response, three or four Confederate batteries began targeting the 5th Maine's position.
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and fought at
Seminary Hill on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863. As the Confederates advanced, the corps fell back past the town of Gettysburg, with Chase's battery taking up a position on a knoll between
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For these actions, Chase was awarded the Medal of Honor several decades later, on
February 7, 1888. Louis Sacriste was also awarded the medal, in part for his actions in saving the 5th Maine Battery's cannons.
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His Medal of Honor was passed down through his family until reaching great-grandson Steve Chase. On May 3, 2009, the 146th anniversary of the day John Chase earned the medal, his great-grandson donated it to
167:. He later participated in the Battle of Gettysburg and was severely wounded, losing his right arm, by a Confederate artillery shell. After the war, Chase worked as an inventor before moving to the
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Eventually, Chase and another man, Corporal James
Lebroke, were the only members of the battery still standing. Together, they continued to fire their cannon, with Chase sponging and ramming the
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others to be buried. The wagon driver heard him moan, pulled him out from among the dead bodies, and gave him a drink of water. The first words Chase said were "Did we win the battle?".
323:, on St. Petersburg's southwest side. He encouraged the sale of land in the area and used his connections with veterans' organizations to arrange buyers from among former soldiers.
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Two months after earning the Medal of Honor at
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combination. He married Maria
Merrill and had seven children: George Edgar, Lena M, Beulah C, Frank, Maude Elizabeth, Ralph, and Bernette.
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In 1895 he moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he engaged in a series of business ventures. These included working as a food
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After the war, he returned to Maine and worked as an inventor, receiving dozens of
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Hospital, where he stayed until he was well enough to return home to
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and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the
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Stationed next to the 5th Maine Battery during the battle was the
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during a ceremony at the park's Chancellorsville Visitor Center.
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for his work. His most well-known invention was a collapsible
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Deeds of Valor: How America's Heroes Won the Medal of Honor
16:
United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (1843–1914)
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Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
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List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients
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American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
632:. Vol. 1. Detroit: The Perrien-Keydel Company.
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569:"Medal winner played big role in city's history"
237:Chase's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
484:Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders
517:United States Army Center of Military History
429:United States Army Center of Military History
400:United States Army Center of Military History
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700:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
230:Kirby died of his wounds three weeks later.
107:5th Battery, Maine Volunteer Light Artillery
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509:"Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (M–Z)"
421:"Civil War Medal of Honor recipients (A–L)"
626:Beyer, Walter F.; Oscar F. Keydel (1901).
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670:People of Maine in the American Civil War
200:"No, not as long as a gun can be fired."
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690:People from St. Petersburg, Florida
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685:People from Kennebec County, Maine
519:. January 27, 2009. Archived from
431:. January 27, 2009. Archived from
398:from websites or documents of the
193:5th Battery, Maine Light Artillery
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371:List of Medal of Honor recipients
394: This article incorporates
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595:Schemmer, Clint (May 1, 2009).
642:Gulfport: A Definitive History
597:"A Heroic Gift to Battlefield"
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212:116th Pennsylvania Infantry
183:Chase joined the Army from
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487:. LSU Press. p. 271.
179:Battle of Chancellorsville
165:Battle of Chancellorsville
122:Battle of Chancellorsville
363:American Civil War portal
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639:Brown, Lynne S. (2004).
513:Medal of Honor citations
481:Warner, Ezra J. (1964).
425:Medal of Honor citations
169:St. Petersburg, Florida
57:St. Petersburg, Florida
396:public domain material
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645:. The History Press.
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574:St. Petersburg Times
523:on February 23, 2009
247:Battle of Gettysburg
127:Battle of Gettysburg
695:Union Army soldiers
602:The Free Lance–Star
125: •
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153:American Civil War
147:(1843–1914) was a
117:American Civil War
652:978-1-59629-018-1
494:978-0-8071-0822-2
220:Louis J. Sacriste
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680:1914 deaths
675:1843 births
577:. p. 3
317:F. A. Davis
262:Culp's Hill
226:to safety.
161:Confederate
664:Categories
613:2009-07-01
581:2009-07-01
545:Beyer, 159
527:2009-05-07
439:2009-04-29
384:References
294:hoop skirt
242:prevented.
149:Union Army
87:Union Army
67:Allegiance
62:age 71 USA
313:streetcar
335:See also
321:Gulfport
224:caissons
173:Gulfport
79:Service/
305:peddler
290:patents
257:I Corps
214:of the
191:in the
189:private
97:Private
84:US Army
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298:bustle
205:muzzle
133:Awards
81:branch
73:Union
647:ISBN
489:ISBN
311:and
296:and
264:and
103:Unit
93:Rank
51:Died
46:, US
38:Born
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