276:, stated that Ferris and the Confederate officer "were armed only with sabres", and that Ferris gained the element of surprise when he "spurred his horse at the guerrilla-leader and suddenly executing a demi-volte which is only effective when performed by a good sabre and a trained horse ... whirled like lightning and caught his opponent such a tremendous back-handed slash that he cut him almost to the saddle." Ferris was then shot in the left thigh just above the knee while fighting off the other two enemy cavalrymen. Grabbing two pistols by unbuckling the officer's pistol belt, according to Scoville, he fired at the second enemy soldier with one hand while using his sabre against the third.
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272:. Facing off on the grounds of Colonel Daniel Bonham's farm near Sailor's Creek, Ferris refused a demand to surrender made by that enemy party's commanding officer (Charles Wiltshire) and shot that officer in the chest before he could draw his pistol. Dodging a bullet from a different Ranger's gun, he then shot that enemy cavalryman in the neck before wounding a third, stealing Wiltshire's horse, and riding away to safety. Ferris was then promoted to the rank of captain on April 21. A different account, penned in 1915 by
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212:, according to historian Allan Tischler. By 1850, the Ferris household included parents Fanny and Robert (a stonemason), and their children, Helen, Fanny, Alexander and Eugene (aged 19, 18, 11, and 8, respectively). Also residing at the home were Ruth and Chester Rugg (a clerk), and Stillman Busher. After completing his education in Lowell, Eugene Ferris also went to work, having obtained a job as a bookkeeper.
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award. According to historian Robert W. Black, Ferris was already "combat experienced and had been wounded twice" when he and his orderly, Private James McLaughlin, were sent out by their superiors on April 1, 1865, to search for enemy guerillas in the area around
Berryville, Virginia, and were set
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Fighting with his fellow 30th
Massachusetts Volunteers "on the Mississippi River at Port Hudson, near Vicksburg, then in the Gulf Region of the Deep South, at New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and along the Red River" over the next two years, according to Tischler, Ferris was then transferred to Virginia
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Following his honorable discharge from the military, Ferris worked in South
Carolina for a time, where he was appointed as a state elections commissioner for Georgetown County in 1870 and, in 1873, as a tax collector for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Although Tischler has stated that Ferris
733:
Passages from the Life of Henry Warren Howe, Consisting of Diary and
Letters Written During the Civil War, 1861–1865: A Condensed History of the Thirtieth Massachusetts Regiment, and Its Flags, Together with the Genealogies of the Different Branches of the
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The
President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant & Adjutant Eugene W. Ferris, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 1 April 1865, while serving with
480:"Ferris, Robert H., Fanny (the mother), Helen, Fanny (the daughter), Alexander, and Eugene," et al. in U.S. Census (Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 1850). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
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as a sergeant with that regiment's D Company, he was commissioned as an officer the following August, eventually rising up through the ranks to become a captain before war's end.
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on
November 18, 1841, Eugene W. Ferris was a son of New York native Robert Ferris and Fanny Ferris, a native of Vermont. He was just a child when he and his family relocated to
569:("General Order No. 1: Headquarters Military District Eastern S.C., Third Separate Brigade, Georgetown, June 28, 1865"), p. 118. Boston, Massachusetts: Self-published, 1910.
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Newspaper accounts of his life help clarify that he moved to
Indiana before the turn of the century. According to the October 6 and 7, 1897 editions of Washington, D.C.'s
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In August 1865, while serving with his regiment in South
Carolina, he was appointed as Acting Assistant Inspector General for the District of Western South Carolina.
347:, in action at Berryville, Virginia. Accompanied only by an orderly, outside the lines of the Army, First Lieutenant Ferris gallantly resisted an attack of five of
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511:", in "Soldier Details", in "Soldiers and Sailors Database". Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, retrieved online August 17, 2018.
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Less than six months later, while serving as a regimental adjutant, Ferris performed the act of gallantry which became the catalyst for his
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with his regiment in mid-June 1864. During this time, while the 30th
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737:(includes multiple mentions of Eugene W. Ferris). Lowell, Massachusetts: Courier-Citizen Co., Printers, 1899.
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Headquarters, Dep't of South
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The Russell Road Campaign of 1865: A love triangle, two officers, and a belle from Clark County
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tide-turning 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Military engagements included the battles of
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in June of that year. Also listed on this record were nine hotel staff and 20 boarders.
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on April 1, 1865. That award was conferred 32 years later on October 16, 1897.
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188:. He received his nation's highest award for bravery during combat, the U.S.
554:. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: George W. Jacobs & Company, November 1915.
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Ghost, Thunderbolt, and Wizard: Mosby, Morgan, and Forrest in the Civil War
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In June 1865, he was appointed Acting Aide de Camp for Brigadier-General
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A medal of honor has also been presented to Eugene W. Ferris, of
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U.S. Internal Revenue: Notice To Internal Revenue Tax Payers.
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Genealogy of the Fillebrown Family with Biographical Sketches
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Ferris finally mustered out from military service in 1866.
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List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F
539:. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2008.
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American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
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596:Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War
224:on New Year's Day in 1862. After enrolling at
182:30th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
176:(November 18, 1842 – February 26, 1907) was a
138:30th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment
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771:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
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329:He died on February 26, 1907, in Rockville,
169:Medal of Honor winner Eugene W. Ferris c1897
415:"Civil War (A-L) Medal of Honor Recipients"
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35:Captain Eugene W. Ferris, c1865
786:People from Rockville, Indiana
608:The Commissioners of Elections
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563:Fillebrown, Charles Bowdoin.
551:Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers
469:The Observer of Clarke County
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384:American Civil War portal
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668:Awarded Medals of Honor
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337:Medal of Honor citation
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715:The Washington Herald
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254:Battle of Cedar Creek
252:in September and the
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112:Years of service
730:Howe, Henry Warren.
270:John Singleton Mosby
236:under Major-General
206:Springfield, Vermont
194:Berryville, Virginia
127:Captain and Adjutant
54:Springfield, Vermont
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264:upon by members of
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751:1842 births
449:22 November
425:22 November
184:during the
115:1862 - 1865
745:Categories
398:References
234:19th Corps
106:Union Army
88:Allegiance
47:1842-11-18
689:The Times
315:The Times
216:Civil War
356:See also
204:Born in
96:Service/
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154:Awards
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78:Buried
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