USA HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR(1861 1865)

END OF THE CIVIL WAR

[SOURCES]
William Harvey Carney was the first African American to be awarded the ____

(A) Presidential Medal of Honor

(B) Purple Heart

(C) Medal of Liberty

(D) ** Congressional Medal of Honor

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -William Carney: The first African-American Medal of Honor recipient. Of the 3, 498 service members who have received the Medal of Honor throughout U.S. history, only 88 have been black.

Concept note-2: -Sergeant William Carney was the First African American Congressional medal of Honor Recipient in the U.S. Army.

Concept note-3: -On May 9, 1900, the War Department bestowed the Medal of Honor on Carney for his gallant service at Fort Wagner during the Civil War. His actions during the battle was the first known action by an African American serviceman that led to a Medal of Honor.

Concept note-4: -The flag flew in honor and remembrance of the life of Sergeant William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. This day marked one of the first times in Massachusetts history that the honor had been given to an African American man. Born to William Carney Sr.

Concept note-5: -So it’s fitting to start with the very first recipient to ever receive the medal: Army Pvt. Jacob Parrott. Parrott was born on July 17, 1843, in Fairfield County, Ohio. He enlisted in the Army as part of Company K, 33rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry, during the Civil War.