ACTION: Chaffin's Farm (Fort Harrison), VA.
DATE: 30 September 1864.
NAME: James, Miles.
RANK/UNIT: Corporal, Co. B, 36th U.S. Colored Troops.
CITATION: "Having had his arm mutilated, making immediate amputation necessary, he loaded and discharged his piece with one hand and urged his men forward; this within 30 yards of the enemy's works."
MEDAL PRESENTED: 6 April 1865.
BIOGRAPHICAL DATA: Born: Princess Anne County, VA.
ENTERED SERVICE: Norfolk, VA.
PHOTOGRAPH/SKETCH: N/A
OTHER: Corporal Miles James was promoted to sergeant by Major General Benjamin Butler and sent to a hospital facility at Fort Monroe, Virginia, to recover from his battlefield amputation. On February 4, 1865, Sergeant James's brigade commander, Colonel Alonzo Draper, took the unusual step of writing a letter to the hospital's chief surgeon asking that James be allowed to return to duty despite having lost his arm.
“Sir," wrote Colonel Draper, "Sgt. Miles James, Co. B, 36th U.S.C.I. writes me from your Hospital to urge that he may be permitted to remain in the service.
He lost his left arm in the charge upon New Market Heights, Sept., 29, 1864.
If it be possible, I would most respectfully urge that his request be granted.
He was made a Sergeant and awarded a silver medal by Maj. Gen. Butler, for gallant conduct.
He is one of the bravest men I ever saw; and is in every respect a model soldier.
He is worth more with his single arm, than half a dozen ordinary men."
On April 18, 1865, Sergeant James was detailed for duty at Colonel Draper's headquarters "near Petersburg." Miles James continued to serve until he received a disability discharge on October 13, 1865, at Brazos Santiago, Texas, where his regiment was serving out its enlistment.
SOURCES:
Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1978, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979. p. 129.
Corporal Miles James – A Superior Soldier, https://battleofnewmarketheights.org/corporal-miles-james-a-superior-soldier/
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An order from Gen. Benjamin Butler, dated 11 October 1864, had this to say:
Corpl. Miles James, Thirty-sixth U.S. Colored Troops, after having his arm so badly mutilated that immediate amputation was necessary, loaded and discharged his piece with one hand, and urged his men forward; this within thirty yards of the enemy's works. He has a medal and a sergeant's warrant.
Official Records, #89, p168
