DOB/DOD: April 19, 1842 (Sprague, CT) – October 2, 1909 (Springfield, MA); 67 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Anna Jordan (1838-1910) on March 8, 1874, in Ephratah, New York
ENLISTMENT: August 28, 1862, in Waterloo, New York.
WOUNDED: June 3, 1864, in Cold Harbor, Virginia.
DISCHARGE: June 22, 1865, in Richmond, Virginia.
FAMILY: Born to Welcome E. (1805-1863) and Sarah L. King Tinkham (1814-1901). Four sisters, Susan E. (1835-1927), Sarah L. Tinkham Blakely (1838-1914), Martha L. Tinkham Berkshire (1841-1936), Alice C. (1846-1864). Three brothers, Albert F. (1849-1923), Edwin T. (1851-1929), and Frederick (1854-1864).
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Civil War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company H, 148th New York Infantry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: April 5, 1898 (34 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 22
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Corporal Eugene M. Tinkham, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 3 June 1864, while serving with Company H, 148th New York Infantry, in action at Cold Harbor, Virginia. Though himself wounded, Corporal Tinkham voluntarily left the rifle pits, crept out between the lines, and exposed to the severe fire of the enemy’s guns at close range, brought within the lines two wounded and helpless comrades.
Letter in pension file stating his receipt of the Medal of Honor
From the Norwich Bulletin October 4, 1909
Eugene M. Tinkham, one of Springfield’s distinguished veterans of the Civil War, died at the Wesson Memorial Hospital, Springfield, at 10 o’clock Saturday morning from the effects of an operation in his 68th year. He had the honor of holding a government medal for bravery in the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864. Since 1872, he had been a resident of Springfield, working at the armory for about twenty years and being twice elected to the Common Council on the Democratic ticket.
Mr. Tinkham was born on April 19, 1842, in the town of Franklin, which then bore the name of Sprague. At the age of ten, he went to work in the Allen Mills of his native town and worked there until he was 17 years old when he went to Lawrence, Massachusetts. He next worked at Marcellus, New York, and also lived in Ephratah, Auburn, and Waterloo, New York, and from the last place, on August 6, 1862, he enlisted in the 148th New York Infantry. He received his discharge at Richmond, Virginia, on June 22, 1865, after a notable service.
Mr. Tinkham became a member of the E.K. Wilcox Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in Springfield in 1883 and was its commander in 1890 and 1891. He was a prominent Odd Fellow and Mason. He had been a member of the Grace Methodist Church of Springfield since 1873. Mr. Tinkham was a man of quiet and modest nature who impressed acquaintances as having efficiency and high purpose.
He is survived by his wife, who was Anna Jordan and, whom he married in Ephratah, New York, on March 8, 1874; two brothers, Edwin T. Tinkham of Hanover and Albert F. Tinkham of Providence; and three sisters, Miss Susan E. Tinkham of Reading and Mrs. Sara Blakeley and Mrs. M.L. Brown of Providence. Burial will be in Hanover, Connecticut.
Buried in New Hanover Cemetery, 29 Potash Hill Road, Hanover, Connecticut. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
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