The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The President of the United States
 in the name of Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the

Medal of Honor

to  BUCKLYN, JOHN K.

Rank and Organization:   First Lieutenant,
           Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.
Place and Date:  At Chancellorsville, Va., 3 May 1863. 
Entered Service At:  Rhode Island. 
Born:   15 March 1834, Foster Creek, R.I. 
Date of Issue: 13 July 1899.

Citation:

Though himself wounded, gallantly fought his section of the battery under a fierce fire from the enemy until his ammunition was all expended, many of the cannoneers and most of the horses killed or wounded, and the enemy within 25 yards of the guns, when, disabling one piece, he brought off the other in safety.
 

The Congressional Medal of Honor for the Army has had several designs. Shown above is the design of the medal awarded in the Civil War to U.S.Army members. Today's present medal of honor is much grander in design and appearance.

We have on file a copy of John K. Bucklyn's speech to the Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society, in which he described the battle and what he did.  It is one of those items that reposes in our pile of papers for which we do not have funds to put into electronic format for you to read. We wish someone would volunteer to transcribe this very, very, difficult handwriting into a typed document, so we could place it on this page (or your could donate about $60 to have one of our researchers work most of a day on some of the materials we have on Bucklyn).

We have more available materials, such as the commendations of his superior officers, for his continued service after Bucklyn returned to battle after recovery from his lung injury.  See those here.

Bucklyn and Battery E fought the Rebels at Malvern Hill, Bull Run and Fredericksburg.  He enlisted as a private, and then rapidly rose in rank, from quartermaster sergeant to second lieutenant to first lieutenant.  Six weeks after the Chancellorsville fight, where he earned his Congressional Medal of Honor, he was promoted to commander of Rhode Island Battery E.

Battery E had 60 men, and twelve cannons.  At Gettysburg his unit was stationed at Cemetery Ridge, and specifically later, at the Peach Orchard.   A Mississippi brigade stormed Bucklin's position, and Bucklin had the cannon fire canister anti-personnel shells.  Bucklyn's men fell and died from the Confederate direct artillery fire and infantry fire into his position.  Twice Bucklyn had horses shot from under him.  As his battery position was directly attacked by Confederate infantry, and with no Union infantry supporting him, he successfully had ten of his twelve cannons removed from the position to others. After he mounted the third horse, the horse was hit with artillery fire, and a piece of shrapnel went into Bucklyn's left lung, filling the lung with blood and making him unable to breath effectively. Yet still he fought Battery E effectively, as described in the commendation for the Congressional Medal of Honor described at the top of this page. 

Bucklin was sent home to recover, and then he returned to fight more in the Shenandoah Valley, where he was promoted to captain during the battle, in recognition of extreme bravery and effectiveness in that bloody battle.

The appreciation his men had for Bucklin as their commander was illustrated in 1886, when a monument was erected on the Gettysburg battlefield, to mark where Battery E had fought.  After the service of dedication, several of the soldiers asked for permission, and were granted permission, to chisel at the bottom: "Lt. J. K. Bucklin Commanding".