29 July

Pvt GEORGE W. HEALEY
Co E, 5th Iowa Cavalry
Newnan, Ga.
29 July 1864

When nearly surrounded by the enemy, captured a Confederate soldier, and with the aid of a comrade who joined him later, captured 4 other Confederate soldiers, disarmed the 5 prisoners, and brought them all into the Union lines.

Fortunately, the Confederate unit mounted up and went on the march without discovering the 2 Union Cavalrymen.

When Healey and his comrade attempted to retrace their steps and return to their unit they found a Confederate seated on a log.  They took him prisoner.

Healy heard men talking and forced his prisoner to lay down as Healey hid behind a tree. Four enemy soldiers were walking directly toward Healy. Pvt Healy stepped  out of his hiding place and too them prisoner also.

Healy himself recounted the event with little fanfare with:

“ We moved toward our lines and reached them without further interruption, where we turned our five prisoners over to General McCook, who paid us a high compliment.”

That “High Compliment” was the Medal of Honor.

Civil War Medal of Honor Citations were generally short and vague.

Pvt Healey’s citation is just one paragraph.

“When nearly surrounded by the enemy, captured a Confederate soldier, and with the aid of a comrade who joined him later, captured 4 other Confederate soldiers, disarmed the 5 prisoners, and brought them all into the Union lines.”