Rank Captain Awards Medal of Honor | Died January 14, 1908 Name Hugh Boon | |
Born July 28, 1831 ( 1831-07-28 ) Allegiance United States of America Years of service August 1861 to 8 July 1865 Battles/wars Battle of Sayler's Creek Unit 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment | ||
Battles and wars Battle of Sailor's Creek Service/branch United States Army | ||
Captain Hugh P. Boon (July 28, 1831 to January 14, 1908) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Boon received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the Battle of Sayler's Creek in Virginia on 6 April 1865. He was honored with the award on 3 May 1865.
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Biography
Boon was born on 28 July 1831 to James and Margaret Miller Boone in Washington, Pennsylvania. Prior to the outbreak of the war, Boon was involved in the grocery business. He first joined the war efforts as a volunteer in the three-month service and later enlisted into the 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry in August 1861, where he was eventually promoted to captain.
On 6 April 1865 Boon mounted his horse and entered the enemy's camp during the Battle of Sayler's Creek, capturing a flag in the process. It is for this act of gallantry that he was presented with the Medal of Honor. During the war Boon was seriously injured, a bullet piercing through his neck in close proximity to his spinal cord, an injury which troubled him throughout the rest of his life.
After the war Boon returned to the grocery business for a while but soon left to go into farming, a trade in which his family was involved while growing up. In October 1866 he married Hannah J. Cook, with whom he had one child. He was later a clerk in the A. B. Caldwell Co store. He died on 14 January 1908, after a period of illness.
Medal of Honor citation
Capture of flag.