Jefferson Coates
{{short description|American Civil War soldier}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = Jefferson Coates
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1843|8|24}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1880|1|27|1843|8|24}}
|birth_place = Grant County, Territory of Wisconsin
|death_place = Dorchester, Nebraska, U.S.{{cite web|url=https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/jefferson-coates|title=JEFFERSON COATES|website=cmohs.org|publisher=Congressional Medal of Honor Society|access-date=January 14, 2025}}
|placeofburial = Dorchester Cemetery Dorchester, Nebraska
|placeofburial_label = Place of burial
|image = Jefferson Coates (1843-1880).jpg
|caption =
|nickname =
|allegiance = {{flag|United States of America|1861}}
Union
|branch = {{army|USA}}
Union Army
|serviceyears = 1861 - 1864
|commands =
|unit = {{Flagicon|Wisconsin|1866}} 7th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry - Company H
|battles = American Civil War
*Battle of South Mountain
*Battle of Gettysburg
|awards = {{flagicon image|Medal of Honor ribbon.svg}} Medal of Honor
|laterwork =
}}
Francis Jefferson Coates (August 24, 1843 – January 27, 1880) was a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of 64 men who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Biography
Coates was born 24 August 1843 in Grant County, Wisconsin{{cite news|title=Land Donated to Blind School|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10173062/jefferson_coates_18431880/|newspaper=The Daily Standard|date=June 30, 1966|page=9|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = April 10, 2017 }} {{Open access}} to William Coates and Cynthia Cain. Although born in Grant County, his official residence was listed as Boscobel, Wisconsin.[https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/1661 Hall of Valor]
Coates joined the Union Army on 29 August 1861 (a few days after his 18th birthday), and served with the 7th Wisconsin Infantry. He was wounded while fighting in the Battle of South Mountain and during the Battle of Gettysburg, where he received the Medal of Honor and a brevet promotion to captain for courage in battle. During the Battle of Gettysburg he was shot in the face, causing him to lose both of his eyes. He was mustered out for disability on September 1, 1864, at the end of his term of service.
Despite having become completely blind, Coates learned how to make brooms after the war and married Rachael Sarah Drew April 21, 1867. Together they had five children, and sometime between 1870 and 1873 they moved to Dorchester, Nebraska.
He died of pneumonia in Dorchester on January 27, 1880 and is buried in Dorchester Cemetery.
Legacy
The Jefferson Coates County Campus of the Missouri School for the Blind was named after Coates.
Medal of Honor citation
Citation:
{{blockquote|For extraordinary heroism on 1 July 1863, while serving with Company H, 7th Wisconsin Infantry, in action at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for unsurpassed courage in battle, where he had both eyes shot out.}}
See also
{{Portal|Biography|American Civil War}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|19733|work=Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients|accessdate=2009-08-16}}
- {{Cite web |accessdate=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwa/coates.html |title=Home of Heroes}}
- {{Cite web |accessdate=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullRecord.asp?id=3898&qstring=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wisconsinhistory.org%2Fwhi%2Fresults.asp%3Fsubject_narrow%3DVeterans |title=Wisconsin History| date=December 2003 }}
- {{Cite web |accessdate=September 29, 2010 |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/states/pages_af/coates_jefferson.html |title=Home of Heroes grave}}
- {{Cite web |accessdate=April 25, 2013 |url=http://civilwarintheeast.com/People/C/CoatesF.php |title=Civil War in the East |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228052400/http://civilwarintheeast.com/People/C/CoatesF.php |url-status=dead }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, Jefferson}}
Category:People from Saline County, Nebraska
Category:People from Boscobel, Wisconsin
Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
Category:American Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor
Category:People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War