Tell Pa I died right, I died at my post.

The 16th SC Regiment Camp 36 of Greenville sponsored Lieutenant Kirkland for the Medal of Honor. The medal was presented to Governor James Edwards by State Commander John A. Morrow and the Commander of the 16th Regiment Camp, John S. Taylor, Jr. The pre- sentation took place at the governor’s mansion on August 17, 1977. The medal was to be permanently displayed at the governor’s mansion but it was later removed to the SC State Capitol and put on display under a large painting unveiled in 1984 of Lieutenant Kirkland giving water to the wounded soldiers.

Presented to Mrs. H. J. Haglier of Camden, South Carolina for the heroism of her ancestor Lieutenant RICHARD KIRKLAND presentation at the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion, Columbia, South Carolina, August 17, 1977.

Division Commander Robert L. Brown nominated and General P. G. T. Beauregard Camp 1458 sponsored the Medal of Honor for Lieutenant McQueen. The presentation ceremony was held November 17, 1991 at the Sumter County Museum in Sumter, where the Medal is on permanent display in the War Room honoring Sumter’s military. The ceremony was covered by the Sumter Item Newspaper and TV Channel 15 News of Florence.

Lieutenant General Wade Hampton, III, born in Charleston on March 28, 1818 and died in Columbia on April 11, 1902. Twenty thousand mourn- ers followed his casket to Trinity Episcopal Churchyard where he is buried.

The Confederate Medal of Honor was awarded to General Wade Hampton’s great-grand- son and great grand daughter, Wade Hampton Oliver and Mary Hampton King. The service was held September 27, 1992 at 3:00 pm at the Confederate Relic Room in Columbia, where it is on display. Real Son Ernest Eugene McAlhaney presented the medal to the family, the family then presented it to the Relic Room.

The Medal of Honor for Lieutenant General Wade Hampton, III, was nominated and sponsored by the General Wade Hampton Camp in Columbia, SC.

“God bless all my people black and white.”

General Hampton offered to enlist as a private, however, Governor Pickens of South Carolina secured him a Colonel’s commission. Colonel Hampton organized the “Hampton’s Legion” with his own money. Hampton paid for six Blakely Cannons and 400 Enfield Rifles for his legion.
During the war General Hampton would be wounded five times. His brother and his youngest son were both killed in the war. Another of his sons was wounded. General Hampton was first wounded in the head at the Battle of First Manas- sas while leading a charge.
At the Battle of Gettysburg, General Hampton received a saber wound to the head on the second day of battle, but this did not stop him. On the third day of battle, (July 3, 1863) Hampton killed three of the enemy with his revolver and another with his sword. Hampton then saw one of his men battling alone and surrounded. Hampton, then by himself, charged to aid his fellow soldier. Hampton knocked one of the enemy from the saddle. Hampton received a second saber wound that fractured his skull but refused to leave the soldier. While continuing to defend the soldier and himself General Hampton killed several of the enemy in personal combat, cleaving one man’s skull to his chin with a single stroke. Hampton had also received a wound to his side.

First Lieutenant Raphael Painpare, Beauregard’s Artillery – Louisiana, was killed at the Battle of “Dingle’s Mill,” Sumter, SC on April 9, 1865. Lieutenant Painpare was on leave in the Sumter area recovering from a serious illness, when scouts reported that some 2600 enemy troops were advancing on Sumter. Lieutenant Painpare volunteered to command one of two cannons with a Southern force of 154 defenders of old men, teenage boys and local militia. Some of the locals believed it to be hopeless. Lieutenant Painpare stepped up and told them

The Medal of Honor for Lieutenant Painpare was sponsored by the General PGT Beauregard Camp in Sumter, SC. The service was held April 6, 1997 at 3:00 pm at the “Battle of Dingle’s Mill” historical site. Real Son Rembert Kennedy, along with 160 others, were present for the medal service. Lieutenant Painpare’s Medal of Honor is on display at the Sumter Genealogical Research and Historical Center.

Sergeant Adam W. Ballenger, was born January 17, 1844 and died December 18, 1912. He was a member of Company C, 13th SC Infantry. During the Battle of “Deep Bottom Run” fought north of the James River in Virginia on July 28, 1864, Sgt. Ballenger

“single-handedly captured an enemy artillery piece.”

The Medal of Honor service was held at Sgt. Ballenger’s grave site on September 30, 1995 at the Inman Baptist Church in Inman, SC. Over 200 people attended the service. Over one hundred of them were descendants of Sgt. Ballenger. Many of them still live in the Inman area. Others came from Alabama, Kentucky, Oregon and Texas. A grandson, Mr. Baxter Morgan Haynes, was one of the speakers. He gave some reminiscences of Sgt. Ballenger, as Mr. Haynes clearly remembered his grandfather.

Sgt. Ballenger was nominated for the medal in 1991 by the Brigadier General Stand Watie Camp 1303 in Oklahoma City, OK. The Medal of Honor service was sponsored by the Sergeant Adam W. Ballenger Camp in Spartanburg, SC. The Medal is on display at the Spartanburg Regional Museum.

The newly designed medal is struck from silver and bronze with a gray neck ribbon. The Great Seal of the Confederacy rests on top of the Confederate Cross of Honor. Inscribed on each end of the cross are the words Honor, Duty, Devotion, and Valor. The cross rests upon a single star that signifies each individual state of the Confederacy. Each branch of military service is represented on each point of the star. Behind all of this is a starburst, which signifies the importance of the medal. The neck ribbon is gray silk with a square of the same material sewn onto the ribbon with thirteen stars embroidered in the shape of the St. Andrews Cross to represent the Battle Flag. Designed by passed Army Of Northern Virginia Commander Henry Kidd.

Seaman, Arnold Becker

Lieutenant, George E. Dixon, Kentucky

Seaman, Frank G. Collins, Virginia

Quartermaster, C. Lumpkin 

Corporal, J. F. Carlsen

Private, J. Miller, Georgia

Boatswain’s Mate, James A. Wicks, North Carolina

Quartermaster, Joseph F. Ridgaway, Maryland

Captain Joseph Banks Lyle, was born December 6, 1829 at Old Yonguesville near Winnsboro, South Carolina. He died August. 16, 1913 in Caddo, Oklahoma, and is buried in: Gethsemane Cemetery, Caddo. A member of the 5th South Carolina Infantry, C.S.A. He lived in Caddo the last sixteen years of his life.

“Battle Of Williamsburg Road, Virginia – October 27, 1864.”

“Seeing that the enemy attack upon the works had failed, Captain Lyle watched the foe retreat to the safety of a ravine in the middle of the battlefield. Suspecting these men to be broken in morale and dispirited, Captain Lyle, ignoring two slight wounds received earlier in the day, requested permission to advance the skirmish line and capture them, knowing they would escape under cover of approaching night. When his request was refused, Captain Lyle advanced toward the enemy position alone. Although joined by two compatriots moments later, Captain Lyle realized the danger his two companions risked in accompanying him. Instructing them to halt on a rise overlooking the enemy, he continued forward. Upon hearing the shout of an enemy officer exhorting his men to continue the fight, Captain Lyle ordered his two companions to shoot down the officer unless he stopped his tirade. Advancing alone, Captain Lyle now came under friendly fire from Confederates far up the works who mistook him for a deserter. When word spread that the distant figure was a Confederate officer, all firing ceased and men up and down the line watched in disbelief as Captain Lyle audaciously ordered the entire force before him to surrender.

After half the enemy had filed from the protection of the ravine, another officer challenged him by berating his fellow soldiers for surrendering to a single man whom they could easily overpower and kill. Grabbing a discarded Spencer carbine, Captain Lyle advanced upon the man and threatened to kill him if he did not obey his demand to surrender, dramatically ending any further resistance. In one of the most incredible feats of personal valor witnessed during the War Between the States, Captain Lyle single-handedly captured three stands of colors, several swords and small arms, and between 500 and 600 prisoners. For extraordinary heroism at great personal peril, Captain Joseph Banks Lyle is hereby awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor.”

The service was held 23 July 2003 at 3:00 at the Fairfield County Museum, in Winnsboro, SC, where the medal is on permanent display. The Medal of Honor for Captain Joseph Banks Lyle, was nominated and sponsored by the General Robert E. Lee Camp #1589 Midlothian, Virginia.