Smith H. Hastings

Smith H. Hastings (December 27, 1843 - October 13, 1905) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.[1]

Smith H. Hastings
Hastings in c. 1865
Born(1843-12-27)December 27, 1843
Quincy, Michigan
DiedOctober 13, 1905(1905-10-13) (aged 61)
Buried
Denver, Colorado
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
RankColonel
Unit Company M, 5th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Awards Medal of Honor
Hastings' burial marker in Riverside Cemetery, Colorado

Hastings was born in Quincy, Michigan on December 27, 1843. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary heroism on July 24, 1863, while serving as a Captain with Company M, 5th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, at Newbys Crossroads, Virginia. His Medal of Honor was issued on August 2, 1897.[2]

He died at the age of 61, on October 13, 1905 and was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Captain Smith H. Hastings, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 24 July 1863, while serving with Troop M, 5th Michigan Cavalry, in action at Newbys Crossroads, Virginia. While in command of a squadron in rear guard of a cavalry division, then retiring before the advance of a corps of infantry, Captain Hastings was attacked by the enemy and, orders having been given to abandon the guns of a section of field artillery with the rear guard that were in imminent danger of capture, he disregarded the orders received and aided in repelling the attack and saving the guns.[3]

See also

Notes
  1. US Army CMH (2014).
  2. CMOHS (2014).
  3. Sightline Media Group (2020).

References
  • Dyer, Frederick H (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q.
  • War Department, U.S. (1880). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 857196196.
  • "Medal of Honor Recipients". United States Army Center of Military History. US Army CMH. 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  • "Smith H. Hastings". Military Times, Hall of Valor. Sightline Media Group. 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  • "HASTINGS, SMITH H." Congressional Medal of Honor Society. CMOHS. 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.


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