Wilmon W. Blackmar

Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar
Born(1841-07-25)July 25, 1841
Bristol, Pennsylvania
DiedJuly 16, 1905(1905-07-16) (aged 63)
Boise, Idaho
Buried
Cedar Grove Cemetery, Dorchester, Massachusetts
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchU.S. Army (Union Army)
Years of service1861 — July 8, 1865
RankCaptain
UnitPennsylvania 15th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry
West Virginia 1st Regiment West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry
Battles / warsAmerican Civil War:
Awards Medal of Honor
Other workLawyer
Signature

Wilmon Whilldin Blackmar (July 25, 1841 – July 16, 1905) was a United States military officer who fought with the Union Army as a member of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry[1] and the 1st West Virginia Cavalry during the American Civil War. He received his country's highest award for bravery during combat, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his "extraordinary heroism" for taking the initiative, during a critical stage of the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, to lead a successful advance upon the enemy while fighting with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.[2] His award was conferred on October 23, 1897.[3]

An advisor to several Massachusetts governors during the late 1880s and early 1900s and Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (1904–1905),[4] he then became only the second person in Massachusetts history to lie in state at the Massachusetts State House in Boston following his death in 1905.[5]

  1. ^ Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Vol. IV: "One Hundred and Sixtieth Regiment (15th Pennsylvania Cavalry)", pp. 902-949. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1870.
  2. ^ "Blackmar, Wilmon W. Mt. Pleasant: South Carolina: Congressional Medal of Honor Society". Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "Civil War (A-L) Medal of Honor Recipients. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Center for Military History". Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  4. ^ "Wilmon W. Blackmar, Commander-in-Chief 1904-1905" (biographical sketch), in Unofficial Proceedings in Connection with the Thirty-Eighth National Encampment of the G.A.R., pp. 213-216. Boston, Massachusetts: Griffith-Stillings Press, 1907.
  5. ^ "Wilmon C. Blackmar", in "Former Speaker George Keverian's Body to Lie in State at State House." Boston, Massachusetts: State Library of Massachusetts, March 10, 2009.