By: Roberta &
J. Hurley Hagood

One of Hannibal's unsung heroes of the Civil War is a Medal of Honor recipient - Thomas H. Higgins. His grave in the Holy Family Cemetery, commonly still called St. Mary's Cemetery, is marked by a modest stone. He died Aug. 16, 1917, at his home at 217 S. Fourth St.

His act of bravery has been described in numerous books which tell the stories of Medal of Honor recipients. This act of bravery occurred on May 22, 1863, in the siege of Vicksburg on the Baldwin Ferry Road. The Union forces, specifically the 99th Illinois Regiment, made an assault on a Confederate stronghold occupied by the 2nd Texas regiment. The Confederates repulsed the Union regiment by a volley of fire, from behind a protected bulwark. It was a Confederate victory.

Suddenly, Confederate officer Charles I. Evans observed a lone Union soldier running toward the Confederate breastworks bearing the United States Flag. It was Thomas Higgins, color bearer of the Illinois 99th. He was advancing alone, as all of his comrades lay dead or wounded on the battlefield. Higgins did not falter in his advance although directly in the line of fire. Miraculously he escaped being hit.

Confederate officer Evans gave an order for the men to stop firing. The firing stopped and Evans, who felt that anyone that brave should be spared, took the flag from Higgins and took him prisoner, as was his duty. Higgins was a prisoner until he was released in August 1863 in a prisoner exchange after the fall of Vicksburg. He returned to duty, and served until 1865 when he was discharged.

An unusual fact about Higgens receiving the Modal of Honor was that he was recommended for it by Confederate officer Evans.

Since Higgins was a Union soldier this was most unusual.

Evans and Higgins exchanged correspondence, maintaining a friendship after the Civil War ended. Years passed and Evans learned that the medal had never been awarded to Higgins due to an unexplainable delay. Evans requested that the medal be sent to Higgins. Letters from officers and members of the Illinois 99th were secured, as well as from Texas men who witnessed the event.

Higgins received the Medal of honor on April 5, 1898.

In his personal correspondence Higgins always insisted that his act was not remarkable. He wrote, "the medal was a recognition of an act which I thought at the time was simply a soldiers duty." He related that his commanding officer had instructed his men to proceed until they reached the enemy's breastworks.

Another particular of the case which is of special interest to Hannibal readers occurred during the Hannibal Street Fair on Oct. 14, 1898. A comrade who had served in battle with him, Michael Lane, came from Illinois to see the medal and congratulate Higgins. Higgins had proudly fastened the medal to his jacket. The two men started walking from the riverfront to the post office at Sixth and Broadway, as Higgins wanted Lane to meet his son who was a postal employee. After walking some distance they noticed that the medal was not on Higgin's jacket but had fallen off somewhere between the riverfront and the post office.

They retraced their steps, but a rain earlier that day had caused many parts of the path they had followed to become muddy. Horse and wagon traffic had been heavy that day due to the fair. Other sympathetic friends joined in the search but to no avail. They were certain it had become mired down in the mud, or picked up by someone not realizing its value. The next flay an advertisement was placed in the local newspaper, "Lost and Found" column, but it elicited no response.

Hannibal Postmaster Charles M, Alger, brother of the U.S. Secretary of War Alger, headed up an effort to secure a duplicate medal. Letters were again secured from comrades and officers of the Illinois 99th, from Evans, and from local character references who had known Higgins many years.

Consequently, in July 1899, another Medal of Honor was sent to Higgins. The Medal of Honor is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor because the recognition was created during the Civil War in 1862, by Congress. The recipients joined an organization, later formed, called the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, but the medal itself is properly called "Medal of Honor." Its design has been changed several times throughout the years.

Thomas H. Higgins was born in Canada, but he came to Hannibal in 1854. He worked at the trade of shoe-maker, or cobbler. In those days before shoe factories, all shoes were hand made. In 1856 he married Mary Sullivan. They had four children. Mary Sullivan died in 1905.

Although he was a Hannibal resident, he enlisted in Barry, Ill. In the early days of the war, if Hannibal men wished to enlist in the Union forces, they went to Illinois, usually Quincy or Barry.

The writers of this story have obtained from the U. S. National Archives and other sources, copies of all of Higgins service records, family records, and correspondence about the incidents related above. These papers and records have been placed in the "vertical file" of the Hannibal Public Library for study.

It is fitting that on this Memorial Day that recognition and appreciation for one of Hannibal's Medal of Honor recipients be included among the other brave men from the area who have served in more recent wars.