William McKinley's Civil War Medal of Honor at Resaca

Dec 14 , 2025

William McKinley's Civil War Medal of Honor at Resaca

William McKinley stood under a sky choking with smoke and death, his rifle clutched tight, eyes scanning the broken line before him. The ground was soaked—not just with mud, but with brothers' blood. The roar of musket fire was a grim drum driving men to stand firm or fall. Amidst chaos, McKinley moved like a steel blade through fire, relentless, unyielding. This was no place for fear. This was the crucible of courage.

The Early Years and a Steady Faith

Born in Ohio in 1843, William McKinley was no stranger to hard work or quiet resolve. Raised in a devoutly Methodist household, his faith was forged on the anvil of personal conviction and community strength.He carried those lessons like armor. His father, a millwright, instilled the value of duty, honor, and the sacred bond of brotherhood. McKinley believed in something greater than himself—a higher calling that would eventually sustain him in the rabbit holes of war.

At the Heart of the Inferno: The Battle of Resaca

May 14, 1864. The Battle of Resaca, a gritty slog in Georgia’s relentless Wilderness Campaign. The Union Army clashed against entrenched Confederates in a fight that tested every man’s mettle.

Sergeant William McKinley, wielding cool steel in Company E, 23rd Ohio Infantry, saw his comrades falter under heavy rebel fire. The order was clear: take the enemy earthworks or die trying.

Reports from after-action communiques paint McKinley as a man possessed with a singular purpose. Under a hail of bullets, he took initiative at a crucial moment when the unit’s advance wavered. Charging forward, he seized the Confederate flag from its bearer—a revered symbol that marked the enemy’s hold on the field—and carried it back to Union lines.

This act wasn’t a reckless stunt. It was raw battlefield leadership, a beacon for battered troops. With the flag in hand, the line galvanized; men surged forward breaking the rebel defense.

McKinley’s actions cost him dearly—wounds that would mark him for life—but his courage rewrote the outcome of that brutal day. The valor displayed wasn’t just bravery; it was a tangible answer to the desperation around him.

Medal of Honor: A Testament Earned in Blood

McKinley’s Medal of Honor citation reads with powerful brevity:

“For gallantry in capturing the enemy’s colors and leading the successful assault on enemy works.”

This decoration came years later in 1892, a formal acknowledgment from a nation still grappling with its scars. His officers praised him. Colonel Herman G. Rowe, his commander, called McKinley’s deed “a rallying cry in the dark, the iron nerve that held our line when all seemed lost.”[1]

The medal itself was not just metal—it was the embodiment of a soldier’s unyielding spirit, a legacy carved from the blood of the fallen.

Lessons Etched in Ash and Iron

Battle is brutal. Battle is transformative. McKinley’s story is not merely a soldier’s tale—it’s a testament to the human capacity for sacrifice.

He taught that in the crucible of combat, leadership can mean the difference between ruin and survival. The courage to step forward when others hesitate defines the soldier’s path.

His faith never faltered. Like Paul wrote in Romans,