"Christian Fleetwood"(July 21,1840-September 28 1914)

After the war He was born in Baltimore to Charles and Anna Marie Fleetwood,both of free persons of color.He received an excellent early education from a wealthy sugar merchant,John Brune,later,Christian continued his studies under the secretary of the Maryland Colonization Society,on organization promoting the immigration of free blacks to Liberia and Sierra Leone.In 1860, he graduated from Ashmun Institute in Oxford,Pennsylvania.He went into publishing with several other men,founding the Lyceum Observer in Baltimore,which was among the first African American newspapers in the South.In August 1863,Christian enlisted in the 4th Regiment United States Colored Infantry.Being so well-educated,he received an immediate promotion to the rank of Sergeant Major.The regiment saw most of its action in the Richmond Petersburgh campaign,taking part in the second Battle of Petersburgh in June 1864 and the infamous Battle of the Crater one month later in July.On September 29,1864,Christian and his regiment fought in the battle of Chaffin's Farm on the outshirts of Richmond.The 4th Regiment was ordered to charge the Confederate fortifications,with Christian leading the left flank.As the men ran forward into the fierce fire of the enemy,one of the color bearers went down.Sergeant Alfred Hilton,himself carrying a flag,seized the second flag and continued to advance.He was soon wounded,but before either of the flags he was carrying could touch the ground,Christian and another soldier ran forward to catch them.The Confederate kept up a heavy fire,but he continued to carry the American flag closer to the fortifications.It soon became apparent to the regiment that they could not continue forward,and they fell back to the reserve line.Christian still brandished the flag,rallying the men to continue to fight.Six months later  on April 6,1865,Christian was awarded his country's highest decoration-the Medal of Honor.The citation reads:"He seized the colors,after 2 color bearers had been shot down,and bore them nobly through the fight."In addition to this honor,every officer of the 4th Regiment sent a petition to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to have Christian commissioned an officer.Unfortunately.Edwin did not recommend the appointment,and Christian continued his service as a Sergeant Major.He was honorably discharged  on May 4,1866.After the war,Christian married and worked in several government positions in the Freedmen's Bank and War Department in Washington,DC.He continued his involvement with the army and organized a battalion of DC National Guardsmen,which he command as a Major.In 1888,he helped to organize the colored High School Cadet Corps of the District of Columbia,which eatablished a high standard of military service for African American soldiers.He never returned to active military service,and in later years indulged in his love of music,serving as choirmaster at four churches in the Washington,DC area.He died almost 50 years to the day of when he won his Medal of Honor.The medial is now in the collection of the Smithsonian's Museum of American History.