Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery on May 3, 1863 at Fredericksburg, Virginia during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He enlisted in the Union Army on June 15, 1861, at Taunton, Massachusetts, and was mustered on as a Corporal on Company F, 7th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, his regiment was part of the Union Army of the Potomac's VI Corps assault on Confederate positions at Marye's Heights, outside of Fredericksburg – the same heights that were held by the rebels in December 1862 when the Union Army made four futile attempts to capture them, causing great casualties. Corporal Maxham and his comrades, facing much less Confederate troops than were there six months ago, attacked and captured the heights. Despite receiving a bad wound, he was the first of his regiment to reach the Confederate lines, and fought the rebels until more men from his regiment entered the works, and help capture scores of Confederates. For this brave act, on August 24, 1896, thirty-three years later, Corporal Maxham, along with comrades Private James H. Luther and Private James Holehouse, were awarded the Medal of Honor (his citation reading "Though severely wounded and in the face of a deadly fire from the enemy at short-range, he rushed bravely forward and was among the first to enter the enemy's works on the crest of Marye's Heights and helped to plant his regimental colors there." He served through the June-July 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, and was honorably discharged due to his wounds on August 16, 1863, having turned down an offer to be commissioned an officer in the Veterans Reserve Corps.
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery on May 3, 1863 at Fredericksburg, Virginia during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He enlisted in the Union Army on June 15, 1861, at Taunton, Massachusetts, and was mustered on as a Corporal on Company F, 7th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, his regiment was part of the Union Army of the Potomac's VI Corps assault on Confederate positions at Marye's Heights, outside of Fredericksburg – the same heights that were held by the rebels in December 1862 when the Union Army made four futile attempts to capture them, causing great casualties. Corporal Maxham and his comrades, facing much less Confederate troops than were there six months ago, attacked and captured the heights. Despite receiving a bad wound, he was the first of his regiment to reach the Confederate lines, and fought the rebels until more men from his regiment entered the works, and help capture scores of Confederates. For this brave act, on August 24, 1896, thirty-three years later, Corporal Maxham, along with comrades Private James H. Luther and Private James Holehouse, were awarded the Medal of Honor (his citation reading "Though severely wounded and in the face of a deadly fire from the enemy at short-range, he rushed bravely forward and was among the first to enter the enemy's works on the crest of Marye's Heights and helped to plant his regimental colors there." He served through the June-July 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, and was honorably discharged due to his wounds on August 16, 1863, having turned down an offer to be commissioned an officer in the Veterans Reserve Corps.
Bio by: RPD2
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