John Harvey Fisher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Harvey Fisher
Born	1837
Died	September 16, 1895 (aged 57–58)
Place of burial	Mountain View Cemetery, Longmont, Colorado
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861 - 1865
Rank	Captain
Unit	55th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Commands held	Unit B
Battles/wars	American Civil War  • Siege of Vicksburg
Awards	Medal of Honor

John Harvey Fisher (1837 – September 16, 1895) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863.

Fisher joined the 55th Illinois Infantry as a private in September 1861, and was discharged in May 1865.

Union assault

On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered an assault on the Confederate heights at Vicksburg, Mississippi. The plan called for a storming party of volunteers to build a bridge across a moat and plant scaling ladders against the enemy embankment in advance of the main attack. The volunteers knew the odds were against survival and the mission was called, in nineteenth century vernacular, a "forlorn hope". Only single men were accepted as volunteers and even then, twice as many men as needed came forward and were turned away. The assault began in the early morning following a naval bombardment. The Union soldiers came under enemy fire immediately and were pinned down in the ditch they were to cross. Despite repeated attacks by the main Union body, the men of the forlorn hope were unable to retreat until nightfall. Of the 150 men in the storming party, nearly half were killed. Seventy-nine of the survivors were awarded the Medal of Honor.