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Citation Reads - Gallantry in the charge of the "volunteer storming party."
Pvt. William H. Longshore was with Company D. of the 30th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The place and date was Vicksburg Ms on May 22, 1863. The Medal of Honor was awarded on August 10, 1894. 81 individuals were awared the Medal of Honor for being part of the "volunteer storming party".
Article on Pvt. Longshore's Funeral - Note that this notice lists that Pvt. Longshore was buried in the National Cemetery - which is not currently the case.
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WILLIAM HENRY LONGSHORE
Fort Scott Daily Republican, Tuesday, December 21, 1909, Pg. 1
Vol. 8, No. 288
A PIONEER DEAD
WILLIAM LONGSHORE PASSED
AWAY YESTERDAY MORNING
AFTER SHORT ILLNESS.
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Was a Resident of Bourbon County
For Almost Forty Years—Funeral
Wednesday Under G. A. R. Auspices.
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W. H. Longshore, one of the pioneer residents of Bourbon county, who resided in the Pawnee neighborhood until about two years ago, when he moved to this city and erected a home on South Main street adjoining the home of his son, Tom Longshore, who is employed as a rural mail carrier, died yesterday morning at 11 o’clock, following an illness dating only since Friday, of Bright’s disease. He had not enjoyed good health for the past several months but was not confined to his bed until Friday evening after which he grew rapidly worse until death claimed him. His aged wife and son and family were gathered about his bedside when the end came and it was a sad blow to them, as none had thought up until yesterday morning that his condition was serious.
William Henry Longshore was born in Muskingdom county, Ohio, February 18th, 1841, remaining a resident of that state until 1872, he came to Kansas, locating in Bourbon county where he has since resided. At the outbreak of the Civil war, he enlisted in company D, 30th Ohio Volunteer infantry, serving with distinction in that regiment until the close of the war when he was mustered from the service. In 1866 he was united in marriage to Emaline Rodgers, who survives him, and to their union four children were born, Charles T. of Buffalo, Ok., W. A. of Englevale, Mrs. Stella Storts, of Maxahala, Ohio and Thomas Longshore of this city.
On coming to Kansas in 1872 Mr. Longshore located at Mapleton, residing there a year and a half after which he moved to a farm a mile and three quarters east of Pawnee, where he resided until he moved to the city two years ago. For the past fifteen years he had been a member of the Baptist church. He was a devout Christian, honored and respected by all. He was for many years a member of the Cato G. A. R. but transferred his membership to William H. Lytle post on moving to Fort Scott.
The funeral will be held Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 from the home at 1314 South Main street, and will be conducted by Rev. Marriott, of the First Baptist church, assisted by Rev. William Woods of Uniontown who was a lifelong friend of the deceased. The service will be under the auspices of the G. A. R. and they as, well as the W. R. C. will attend in a body. Interment will be made in the National cemetery.
Information on the "volunteer storming party" of the "forlorn hope"
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Ulysses S. Grant sent out the call for volunteers. He had spent months encircling the enemy and now he had them trapped within their fortress on the Mississippi River. He would take that fort by storm, and this time, by God, he would not fail. Two days earlier his men had been pushed back but that assault had been hurried and made without careful planning and proper support. Grant had lost one thousand men in that attack. This time would be different: The Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg would fall.
Grant chose his best general, William Tecumseh Sherman, to lead the attack, which would be preceded by a bombardment from Union gunboats on the River. Vicksburg sat high on the bluffs of the Mississippi, protected on one side by the river and on the land side by steep cliffs and fortifications. In order to breach the fort, the Union troops would first have to cross a dry moat and then scale the heights in a direct strike. A volunteer storming party would lead Sherman’s attack, one hundred and fifty men carrying logs, planks, and ladders.
The plan was that some of the men would charge and throw the logs across the deep but dry moat while the men with planks would place them across the logs creating bridges over the trench. This would allow the third group of volunteers to cross the moat with scaling ladders and place them against the Rebel embankment. The main body of armed troops could then advance and attack the fort directly.
The mission would be a "Forlorn Hope," a nineteenth century military term for a charge where most members could expect to be killed or wounded. Such an attack today would be called a suicide mission. Each regiment would have a quota for volunteers and Sherman specified that only single men would be accepted, no fathers or husbands would be sent on this mission. Even with that limitation, twice as many men as needed stepped forward and the volunteers were paired to the one hundred and fifty required.
One of the volunteers, one who survived the assault, was twenty-one year old Louis Renninger who would one day make his home in Oregon. Renninger, the son of German immigrants, was born on his parent’s farm in Liverpool, Ohio in 1841. He volunteered for the Union at the start of the war and was assigned to the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one of three all German regiments from Ohio. The commander of the 37th Ohio, Colonel Edward Siber, was a veteran of the Prussian army and was known for his discipline.