Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor. . , "At New Bern, North Carolina, brought off the wounded color Sergeant and the Colors under a heavy fire of the enemy." , -Private Orlando E. Caruana , Medal of Honor Citation , November 14, 1890 , The first Confederate volley that struck Brigadier General Reno's brigade sent panic through its ranks. The 21st Massachusetts was deployed to the right of the head of the brigade column and the 51st New York was moving forward to extend the line to the left of the 21st Massachusetts facing the Brickyard. The first Confederate volley caught the Federals by surprise. Reno thought the right flank of the Confederates was at the Brickyard and was unaware of the Confederate positions across Bullen Branch. Quickly, Reno changed his brigade front and redeployed his men to face the new threat across the swamp., Colonel Edward Ferrero advanced his 51st New York down the hill and engaged the Confederates. A heated firefight ensued and the Federals got the worst of it in their exposed position. The regimental chaplain was killed, several officers were wounded, and the ranks suffered numerous casualties. As Ferrero withdrew his regiment from this exposed position, the color sergeant was shot and the colors fell. Private Orlando Caruana rushed back to his aid amidst a hail of bullets. Caruana picked up the colors and the color sergeant and carried them both to safety. Later he would be awarded our nation's highest military honor for bravery , the Medal of Honor. , Private Orlando E. Caruana Company K, 51st New York, Private Caruana, an immigrant from Ca Valletta, Malta was awarded the Medal of Honor . for two separate acts of heroism., The Battle of New Bern, NC - March 14, 1862 and The Battle of South Mountain, MD (Fox's Gap) - September 14, 1862