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Rank and organization: Sergeant Major, 14th Connecticut Infantry. Place
and date: At Gettysburg, Pa., 3 July 1863. Entered service at: Bridgeport,
Conn. Birth: Bucksport, Me. Date of issue: 1 December 1864. Citation: During
the highwater mark of Pickett's charge on 3 July 1863 the colors of the
14th Tenn. Inf. C.S.A. were planted 50 yards in front of the center of
Sgt. Maj. Hincks' regiment. There were no Confederates standing near it
but several were Iying down around it. Upon a call for volunteers by Maj.
Ellis, commanding, to capture this flag, this soldier and 2 others leaped
the wall. One companion was instantly shot. Sgt. Maj. Hincks outran his
remaining companion running straight and swift for the colors amid a storm
of shot. Swinging his saber over the prostrate Confederates and uttering
a terrific yell, he seized the flag and hastily returned to his lines.
The 14th Tenn. carried 12 battle honors on its flag. The devotion to duty
shown by Sgt. Maj. Hlncks gave encouragement to many of his comrades at
a crucial moment of the battle.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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