photo by: Cynthia Hernandez

The Family plot for Samuel J. Churchill is seen Sunday, June 16, 2024, at Oak Hill Cemetery.

On the east side of Iowa Street, between 19th and 23rd streets, stands the United States Army Reserve Training Center, which bears the name of Samuel J. Churchill.

Churchill is one of two Medal of Honor recipients to have been Lawrence residents and to be buried here.

Churchill was memorialized in the Lawrence Journal-World on June 6, 1932:

“Taps sounded last night for Samuel J. Churchill, 90 years old, well known Civil War veteran of Lawrence, and brought to an end his career as a useful citizen and an active member of Washington Post, No. 12, Grand Army of the Republic.”

The newspaper noted he had become a member of this Civil War veterans group in 1881 and commented “It is believed that he had … attended more funerals of G.A.R. Veterans than any other member of that organization.”

Churchill enlisted in 1861 and served in the Illinois Union Army. The Journal-World in 1932 stated that he received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Nashville, Tenn., while serving as a first corporal. His battery was rushed into action on the western edge of town and found “a hot reception” by Confederate forces, which were ready and waiting.

“Several horses and men were killed before the battery teams could be used. So hot a fire was poured into the battery that the officers declared the position untenable and gave the men permission to seek shelter. Corporal Churchill, who had charge of the first gun, decided to stay. Another member of the battery brought ammunition back from a caisson 100 feet down a hill and the two fought a battle against the hostile batteries. Nearby the battery was a brick house and many shots from the rebel batteries struck the house. Little note was given of the incident by Corporal Churchill.”

It was in the early 1890s that Churchill’s bravery was formally recognized with the Medal of Honor. His citation, listed with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, reads:

“When the fire of the enemy’s batteries compelled the men of his detachment for a short time to seek shelter, he stood manfully at his post and for some minutes worked his gun alone.”

After coming to Lawrence in 1881, Churchill was engaged in the barbed wire and grocery businesses. For years he was connected with the Perkins Trust Co., and he retired in 1920.

photo by: Cynthia Hernandez

Samuel J. Churchill, who died in 1932, received the Medal of Honor for his service during the Civil War. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.