To: National Welsh American Foundation
Subject: NATIONAL WELSH AMERICAN FOUNDATION PROJECT PROPOSAL Congressional Medal of Honor for Henry Reese
1. While researching the subject of the Welsh participation in the American Civil War, I requested the records of Sgt. Henry (Harry) Reese, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry from the National Archives. I knew that Sgt Reese had been involved in the construction of the mine at Petersburg, VA, which was exploded on 30 July 1864 culminating in the disastrous Battle of the Crater. A large number of the men of the 48th PA were Welsh coal miners recruited from Schuylkill County, PA. The documents I received from the Archives included: the standard record of enlistment, a letter requesting leave after receiving his commission and, surprisingly, a nomination by General John G. Parke, who succeeded General Ambrose Burnside to command of the Ninth Corps after the debacle of the Crater, recommending Sergeant Reese for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
2. Harry Reese was born in Wales in Monmouthshire (today Gwent) on July 5, 1835. He was a coal miner by trade. I have been able to find little detail about his early life. He had a brother John, who also served in the 48th PA and lost an arm in service at the Battle of Spotsylvania. A patriotic American, he was one of the first volunteers, enlisting in August 1861 just after the Battle of Bull Run and serving through to the end of the War. He was wounded in action during the final drive on Petersburg, which ended the War in April 1865. After the war, Reese settled in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, where he found work as a bodyguard of a mine superintendent during the height of the Mollie Maguire days. He later opened a saloon, became a butcher, and bought up land in and around Shamokin. He served also as a Burgess of the town for several years before his death, which came on May 12, 1892. The cause of death was listed as a “tooth infection.” Henry “Snapper” Reese, was fifty-six years of age at the time of his death. The Shamokin Herald wrote: “The death of Lieut. Henry Reese, which occurred at Shamokin May 12, 1892, removed one of our best and bravest Schuylkill County veterans of the war, than whom there were no better in the armies of the Union when the fate of the Republic hung in the balance. Lieut. Reese’s skill and heroism at the Petersburg mine immortalized his name, notwithstanding it failed of the full results his commander had planned and hoped for, yet Reese did his work well and fearlessly, for which he received the thanks of the nation. He goes on to join the silent majority regretted and mourned by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.”
3. During the Civil War, the Congressional Medal of Honor was the only award for valor given to Union soldiers. 1,520 of these medals were awarded with over 300 of the awards given to soldiers for the act of capturing an enemy flag. Others were for greater acts of courage. The citation for Sgt Reese was for entering the 500 foot long tunnel in the early hours of the morning to discover where the fuse to explode the tons of gunpowder in the mine’s gallery had gone out.
4. Sgt Reese was in charge of the work detail and the day to day engineering aspects of the construction. The engineers building the mine had not been given proper equipment, the Army command not taking the task seriously. The fuses they were given were not the correct type and in pieces, some of which were as short as three feet long. These had to be spliced and then laid in a gunpowder filled trench. Sgt Reese and Lt Jacob Doughty volunteered to enter the narrow tunnel in the dark to find the break and relight the fuse. The break was only 40 feet from the gallery where 320 kegs containing over 8,000 pounds of black poweder were ready to explode. For this act Sgt Reese was nominated for the award. I did not check Lt Doughty’s records.
5. I checked the records and neither man ever received the medal. I have made several attempts to begin a campaign to present the award to any of Sgt Reese’s descendents. I talked to Mike Cavanaugh who coauthored a book on the Battle of the Crater called “The Horrid Pit” who gave me a lot of information. I tried to contact the librarian in Minersville who supposedly has more information, but he never answered my letters. I tried contacting the congressman from the district, Hon. Tim Holden, but he also never answered me.
6. I think this would be a good project with a lot of visibility for the NWAF to undertake. The 150th anniversary of the Civil War is coming up. The 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Crater will be on July 30, 2014. Having a presentation of this sort to either descendants (I don’t think there are any direct descendants; I don’t know about any collateral descendants) or to the NWAF, Schuylkill County or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would be an excellent way of demonstrating the contributions of the Welsh to America.
7. I think we could enlist the aid of Rhodri Morgan and members of the Welsh Assembly, Hon Paul Flynn who represents Newport in Gwent where Harry Reese came from and even some of the Welsh members of Parliament and the Assembly. This would help get the Pennsylvania congressman and perhaps their Senators to take interest. There was an article on Harry Reese in the South Wales Echo several years ago written by Welsh musician Mick Tems, who has since suffered a stroke. Much of the information he used was provided by me. We may also be able to get the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War to help. I am a member of that organization. I don’t know if perhaps the NWAF has any connections in Schuylkill County who would like to assist us as well. The National Park Service would be another source of support. What we need would be an advocate with the United States Army. The 48th Pennsylvania has a blog and I have already gotten the man who runs it, John Hoptak, to help with research. Perhaps Ms Cathrin Brace from the Welsh Assembly Office in New York, who assembled the display on the Welsh in America – which includes a picture of Sgt Reese – would be interested.
8. I have attached copies of the materials I have, including the citation nominating Sgt Reese for the award and the article from the South Wales Echo. Attached also is his photograph. Note the similarity between Sgt Reese and the Sergeant Major of the South Welsh Borderers in the movie “Zulu”.
Enlisted: 8/19/1861
Age at Enlistment: 25
Height: 5’9 ˝”
Complexion: Light
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Light (I also have a reference to him being redheaded)
Occupation: Miner
Residence: Minersville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Promoted from Sgt. To 2nd Lt.: 10/30/1863
Wounded at Petersburg, Virginia: 4/2/1865
Mustered Out With Regiment: 7/17/1865
Veteran
