Alfred B. Hilton was a Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 soldier during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm

Battle of Chaffin's Farm

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought September 29–30, 1864, as part of the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...

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Biography

By September 29, 1864, Hilton was serving as a Sergeant in Company H of the 4th Regiment United States Colored Infantry. On that day, his unit participated in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm on the outskirts of the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 capital of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. During the battle, Hilton carried the American flag

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

 as part of the unit's color guard

Color guard

In the military of the United States and other militaries, the color guard carries the National Color and other flags appropriate to its position in the chain of command. Typically these include a unit flag and a departmental flag...

. As the 4th Regiment charged the enemy fortifications, Hilton grabbed a second flag, the regimental colors, from a wounded soldier. When he was himself seriously wounded by a shot through the leg, he called out "Boys, save the colors!" Two of his fellow soldiers stepped forward; Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood

Christian Fleetwood

Christian Abraham Fleetwood , was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, an editor, a musician, and a government official...

 took the American flag and Private Charles Veale

Charles Veale

Charles Veale or Veal was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm.-Biography:...

 grabbed the blue regimental flag, each before the colors could touch the ground.

Hilton died of his wounds nearly a month later, on October 21. Six months after the battle, on April 6, 1865, he was posthumously issued the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chaffin's Farm. The men who had taken the flags after he was wounded, Fleetwood and Veale, also received the medal.

Hilton is buried in Hampton National Cemetery

Hampton National Cemetery

Hampton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Hampton, Virginia. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 27,799 interments.- History :...

, Hampton, Virginia

Hampton, Virginia

Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...

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Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company H, 4th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date. At Chapins Farm, Va., September 29, 1864. Entered service at:------. Birth: Harford County, Md. Date of issue: April 6, 1865.

Citation:

When the regimental color bearer fell, this soldier seized the color and carried it forward, together with the national standard, until disabled at the enemy's inner line.

See also

• List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L
• List of African American Medal of Honor recipients
• Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls, Uncommon valor : a story of race, patriotism, and glory in the final battles of the Civil War, (Wiley, 2006) (ISBN 0471468231)