Thomas J. Guinevan was a resident of Bath, New Hampshire, when the Civil War began to escalate. Answering the call for volunteers, he traveled to Concord to enlist in the Union Army during the late summer of 1862. He was mustered into Company G of the 11th New Hampshire Infantry, a regiment that would soon find itself at the heart of some of the war’s most brutal engagements.

By December 1862, Guinevan and the 11th New Hampshire were positioned at the Battle of Fredericksburg. On the devastating afternoon of December 13, the regiment was ordered to charge Marye’s Heights, a position heavily fortified by Confederate forces. Under a relentless hail of lead and artillery, the Union lines suffered staggering casualties.

During the height of the retreat and under heavy enemy fire, Guinevan witnessed a comrade fall wounded in the “no man’s land” between the lines. Refusing to leave a fellow soldier behind, he and another member of the 11th New Hampshire braved the ongoing barrage to reach the wounded man. Together, they successfully carried him back to the safety of the Union lines. For this act of conspicuous gallantry, Guinevan was later awarded the Medal of Honor.