Confederate Congressional Medal of Honour
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Historical Marker #1183 commemorates three Daviess County Confederate soldiers who were honored by Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. Albert M. Hathaway, John L. Bell, and Mathias Garrett were three of seventy-two Kentucky Confederate soldiers given such honor for their actions while in the Confederate Army.
Hathaway was appointed second corporal in 1861 and then second lieutenant in 1863. He fought at the Battle of Stones River, where he was wounded in the leg and then captured. After he was exchanged and rejoined his company, he fought at Jackson, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Gap, Resaca, Dallas, Peachtree Creek, Utoy Creek, and Jonesboro. He died in 1883 and is buried at the Elmwood Cemetery in Owensboro.
Bell was appointed first sergeant in 1861 in the 4th Kentucky Infantry and was elected second lieutenant in 1862. He fought at the battles of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Stones River, Jackson, and Chickamauga. It was at this last battle that Bell was killed in the last charge on September 20, 1863. He is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery.
Garret was a private in Company K of the 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment. He fought at Baton Rouge, Stones River, Jackson, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Gap, Resaca, Dallas, and Atlanta at Peachtree and Intrenchment Creeks. At Intrenchment Creek, Garrett was severely wounded in the shoulder but rejoined his regiment in the fall of 1864.
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The Battle of Chickmauga
The Battle of Chickmauga took place from September 18-20, 1863 and was the largest Confederate victory, and the deadliest battle fought, in the West. Courtesy of Library of Congress.
The Battle of Stone River
The Battle of Stone River, or second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. Although it was a Union victory, the casualties for the battle numbered more than 12,900 for the Union and 11,700 for the Confederates, the second highest percentage of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg. Courtesy of Library of Congress.
CSA Medal of Honor
Although there were no actual badges given to the Medal of Honor recipients during the Civil War, the United Daughters of the Confederacy created the Southern Cross of Honor and bestowed the medal to members of the United Confederate Veterans for Civil War service. More than 78,000 medals were issued from 1901 to 1913. Courtesy of Kentucky Historical Society.