Orion Howe Memorial (Waukegan, Illinois)

Union

Orion Perseus Howe was a Union drummer boy in Company C, of the 55th Illinois Infantry. On 19th May 1863 at the battle of Vicksburg he was present on the field and was ordered by Colonel Malmborg to go to General Sherman and request the supply of cartradiges for Malmborg's men. He was 14 years old at the time. Wounded, and facing severe gunfire, Howe is said to have courageously made his way to Sherman and "called as loud as he could calibre 54'. He is said to have only permitted medical attention to his wound after Sherman promised to get the ammunition to his regiment. Howe graduated from Annapolis in 1870, and received a congressional medal of honour on April 23rd 1896. He is, to this date, the youngest recipient of the award. The statue is located at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in Washington Park and was unveiled in 2006 by the Waukegan Park District. A historical marker is also present.

Inscription:

A resident of Glen Rock Avenue in Waukegan and a musician in Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry/He is the youngest soldier ever to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery on the battlefield at Vicksburg, Mississippi on May 19, 1863./"A drummer boy, 14 years of age, wounded and exposed to heavy fire from the enemy, he persistently remained upon the field of battle until he had reported to General W.T. Sherman the necessity of supplying cartridges for the use of troops under command of Colonel Malmborg."

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