Edward A. Holton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edward Alexander Holton
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| Born | August 28, 1835 Westminster, Vermont |
| Died | January 29, 1906 (aged 70) Bernardston, Massachusetts |
| Place of burial |
Old Westminster Cemetery, Westminster, Vermont
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| Allegiance |  United States of AmericaUnion |
| Service/ |
 United States ArmyUnion Army |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | 1st Vermont Infantry (Company H, May–August 1861) 6th Vermont Infantry (Company I, 1861-1864) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War • Siege of Yorktown and Lee's Mills • Seven Days campaign • Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm • Battle of Williamsburg • Battle of Savage's Station • Battle of White Oak Swamp • Battle of Malvern Hill • Second Battle of Bull Run • Battle of South Mountain • Battle of Antietam • Battle of Fredericksburg • Second Battle of Fredericksburg • Battle of Salem Church • Battle of the Wilderness |
| Awards |  Medal of Honor |
Edward Alexander Holton (August 28, 1835 – January 29, 1906) was a United States soldier who was awarded his nation's highest honor for valor, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his gallantry while fighting with the 6th Vermont Infantry during the American Civil War. The award was issued in recognition of his efforts, while under heavy enemy fire, to prevent the American flag from falling into enemy hands after his regiment's color-bearer fell in action during the Battle of Lee's Mills, Virginia in April 1862.
Formative years
Born in Westminster, Vermont on August 28, 1835, Edward Alexander Holton was a son of Erastus Alexander and Hannah Brainard (May) Holton.
In 1850, he resided in Westminster with his widowed mother and brothers, David and Joel. Also residing at the family home were boarders, John Farewell, Julia Alby and Clarissa Farewell.
Civil War
Holton was one of the early responders to President Abraham Lincoln’s call for volunteers to help defend the nation’s capital following the fall of Fort Sumter at the dawn of the American Civil War. Choosing to enlist from his place of birth – Williston, Vermont, he enrolled for military service on May 2, 1861 as a member of Company H, 1st Vermont Infantry. After honorably completing his Three Months’ Service, he mustered out on August 15, 1861.
He then promptly re-enlisted for a three-year tour of duty, enrolling on August 28, 1861 as a first sergeant with Company I, 6th Vermont Infantry. During the fall of 1861, he was stationed with his regiment at Camp Griffin, Virginia.
It was in the spring of 1862 that Holton performed the act of valor for which he would later be awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor. On April 16, while fighting with the 6th Vermont at Lee's Mills, Virginia during the Siege of Yorktown, Holton rescued the national colors after his regiment's color-bearer fell in action after being shot. The next day, Holton was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant by Brigadier-General W. T. H. Brooks, and he and his regiment were praised for their performance by Brooks via General Order No.
Holton then participated with his regiment in the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia, including the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862), and the Seven Days Battles at: Golding's Farm (June 27–28, 1862), Savage's Station and White Oak Swamp (June 29–30, 1962); in the Maryland Campaign, including the battles of: South Mountain (September 14, 1862) and Antietam (September 17, 1862); and in the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28–30, 1862), Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11–15, 1862), Second Battle of Fredericksburg/Marye's Heights (May 3, 1863), and Battle of Salem Church (May 3–4, 1863), according to a letter penned by Holton to his family from his regiment's camp near "White-Oak Church, Va."
Commissioned as a first lieutenant with his regiment on June 5, 1863, he was granted a furlough in recognition of his service, and returned home to Vermont sometime during the late summer of that year. While there, he wed Katherine Matilda Chase (1841-1891) in Alburgh, Vermont on September 15. A native of Champlain, New York, she was a daughter of the Rev. John and Roxanna (Shute) Chase. During the first years of his marriage, he documented key moments in his regiment's history as he described his life as a Civil War-era soldier in letters home to his wife, including the November 3, 1863 execution of a deserter and another soldier's attempt the next day to injure himself badly enough that he would be unable to fulfill the terms of his enlistment.
On May 5, 1864, Holton became a casualty himself, wounded seriously while fighting with the 6th Vermont Infantry in the Battle of the Wilderness. Ten days later, while recuperating from his wounds, he was commissioned as a captain with his regiment. He was then honorably discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disability on August 17, 1864, and sent home to his family in Vermont.
Post-war life
Following his honorable discharge from the military, Holton returned home to his wife. By 1870, they had relocated to the community of Lee, Massachusetts in Berkshire County. Employed at a Pennsylvania mill, according to the federal census which was conducted on July 2 that year, his household had grown to include daughter Katherine May (1865–1942) and son Charles (1868–1939).
Residing in Burlington, Vermont with his wife in 1890, he was then widowed by her the following year after she developed acute peritonitis and succumbed to that condition in Colrain, Massachusetts on November 3, 1891. State burial records noted that, although she was a resident of Burlington, Vermont at the time of her death, she was buried in Westminster, Vermont following her death in Colrain, Massachusetts.
Death and interment
Still a widower after the turn of the century, Holton resided with his son, Charles — a physician, at his home in Bernardston, Massachusetts. Six years later, Edward A. Holton died in his sleep at the age of 70 at his son's Bernardston residence on January 26, 1906. Following funeral services on January 31, 1906, he was laid to rest at the Old Westminster Cemetery in his hometown of Westminster, Vermont.
Medal of Honor
Holton was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 9, 1892 for his actions at the Battle of Lee's Mills on April 16, 1862. At this time, he was a first sergeant.
See also
