“Chaplain Milton L. Haney was awarded the Medal of Honor on November 3, 1896. It was awarded for his actions during the Battle of Atlanta at Peachtree Creek on July 22, 1864. Four men earned the medal of Honor that day, and among those four was Milton Haney, sometimes called “The Fighting Chaplain” by the men of the 55th Illinois Infantry.”¹

“When the tide of the battle was critical on July 22, Chaplain Haney voluntarily took up a musket and joined the ranks of his regiment, fighting with his men in retaking the Union works that had previously fallen to enemy forces.”² “Milton Haney was awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in a federal counterattack during fierce fighting outside Atlanta.”³

Haney “was born at Savannah, OH on January 23, 1825, and he died at Altadena, CA on January 20, 1922 at the age of 96. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery.”⁴

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¹ Chaplain Regimental Museum Association’s Facebook page.

² Ibid.

³ Herman A. Norton, “Struggling for Recognition: The United States Army Chaplaincy, 1791-1865.”  Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army, 1977.

⁴ Chaplain Regimental Museum Association’s Facebook page.

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